


Sleeping Awake

by SinfulExistence



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama, F/M, Mild Language, Romance, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:39:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2536199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfulExistence/pseuds/SinfulExistence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wasn't sure why she allowed the two of them to have these late night talks, but they gave her a sense of venting she could never get with any of her friends. Her faceless friend was a good listener, direct about things that needed to be heard (even when they weren't wanted), and... possibly dangerous to her well-being.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Repost from my ff.net account.
> 
> Purposely not being straight-forward with the pairing. Sorry if this causes issues for the super gung-ho people who become totally and irrationally distraught if a story isn't the "only pairing I will read".
> 
> Timeline is tricky on this one. It's not current (manga chapter 631 as of this post), but it's not too far back, either. I'd need to re-read some of the older shippuden chapters to give you a proper timeline but hopefully there's enough exposition to wing it.

What is stress? What does it look like? What does it feel like?

Sakura had thought she understood well what stress was. It wasn't until the last few years of her life that she really got a good feeling for it.

Stress was being abandoned by someone you thought was a beloved comrade. Someone you held close to your heart. Stress was hearing he had become a missing-nin, working under Orochimaru. It was working under that crazy but endearing Slug Princess of a Hokage, feeling like she might be her death.

Stress was thinking that three years of training would prepare you, only to find you're as helpless as ever in bringing him back. It was learning what was sealed inside one of her best friends and how ignorant and unhelpful she was toward him all this time. Knowing that the Akatsuki wanted Naruto, had Sasuke, and then watching as they obliterated Konohagakure.

It was watching Sasuke so drunk with power that he would kill his own new teammates in front of his old ones. Seeing the look of betrayal on Karin's face, that same betrayal she'd been harboring for years now.

It was spending another year after that helping to clean up. Helping to heal others. It was fourteen hour shifts and drowning herself in missions to numb the pain. It was forcing herself to move on even as her mind and heart lingered on thoughts of her lost friend.

Stress was the dark circles under her eyes, marked darker by each minute of sleep she missed, reflecting on the whispers and hate about the murderous Uchiha Sasuke. It was the way her hair hung limp from neglect, less inclined to be immaculate in her appearance while her mind swam with the losses they had endured to this point and how helpless she was in changing those events. It was the ribs that were slightly visible through her skin from her lack of eating, finding it hard to stomach anything when she thought of all the other shinobi who had managed to do something for their village or their loved ones. Like Hinata, who had boldly thrown herself in front of Naruto, declaring her love in front of Pain and swearing to protect Naruto from him.

Stress was the state of her apartment, which was messy, dark, and lonely. It was the empty eyes that would stare out of her window toward the Uchiha sector of the village each night before sleep, watching under the moon at the stillness, deeply wishing to see movement, any sign that Sasuke had come to his senses. Hearing that he'd killed Itachi but he still didn't come home.

But it was also anger. Oh, it was blazing anger. Despite feeling weakened in some ways compared to her comrades, she knew she was strong. She knew she was brave. It was just hard to be that way in front of their old teammate and that infuriated her.

She felt anger at so many things lately, but she kept it to herself. Her own guilt prevented her from proper care of herself outside of regular training. Her anger kept her from being social, slowly closing herself off from people. No one understood. No one could understand the complicated feelings she held. Not even Naruto. It was close, but he couldn't fully grasp what it was like for her, the woman abandoned by him. Not just from the village. Naruto could understand that. It was more that she knew by now that Sasuke could hold no love for her. She'd even offered to leave the village with him, to be beside him, and he'd rejected her. He'd thanked her, sure, but never once did he consider her offer. She wasn't nearly important enough.

She shook the thoughts from her head, laying down on her bed with a hand placed against her forehead and looking out the window. She barely remembered to set her alarm, rubbing her forehead with some chakra thrumming in her fingertips to numb the headache. Sighing she fell into a fitful sleep.

Her sleep didn't last long though. Being a light sleeper was a large part of being a shinobi and she felt a chakra signature moving through the village. She would have looked into it more if she weren't still half-asleep, though a distant part of her brain at least tracked that chakra, as it was stronger than a lot of the ordinary chakras around her. To the frustration of her subconscious though, the chakra disappeared entirely before she could get a bead on it. She assumed that it had been dealt with and once again drifted into darkness. She'd have to be up in a few hours for another shift anyway.

Granted, it was a shift she volunteered for, but still.

She didn't last long again before gasping and sitting up abruptly. Her eyes were lined with tears, sweat lightly coating her body. Her heart hammered in her chest before she let out a single sob of frustration and wiped her eyes. In frustration, she found herself growling under her breath, "Ugh.. again.."

"Again? I suppose you find yourself awoken this way often?"

Her body tensed at the quiet but deep voice coming from just outside her window. Her immediate reaction was to reach for a kunai, cursing that the chakra she'd lost track of earlier was now right outside her window. She caught a flash of light off a weapon from the person and thought better to lunge out her window at him.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

The voice bothered her deeply. She knew it and yet she didn't. It was whispered, barely letting her hear the voice itself and making recognition hard. The chakra possessed no killing intent toward her though and she let the tip of her kunai lower very slightly, "Who are you?"

The figure, nothing more than a silhouette just outside her field of vision, gave a short chuckle. There was no verbal response though and she finally just assumed she would not be getting an answer. After a short moment, she heard his voice again, "You were calling out for someone in your sleep."

She tensed, having a feeling from how these nightmares went that she knew exactly whose name she had been calling, "It's really none of your business."

The voice sounded polite and almost apologetic, "I meant no offense, of course. I simply wondered why you would call for a known serial killer."

"Once again, that's my business," she snapped irritably, wondering if this was Kiba or someone else playing a practical joke on her. At any rate, it wasn't funny, especially at this time of night. She really hoped people weren't going to make a habit of coming and interrupting her in the middle of sleep about her life choices, "Regardless of what he's doing now, we just want him to come home. At least I do. And Naruto. He can answer for his crimes and then we can try to patch things up."

There was a silence before the voice murmured bluntly, "That's rather naive."

She glared angrily at her window, starting to lean over a bit to try to get a better angle out of the side of her window, but the figure had their back to the exterior wall of her apartment, making it difficult in the lack of light to make him out, "I'm aware of what it is! I didn't say it was rational! It is what it is."

The figure felt an eyebrow raise up in surprise, though of course Sakura wouldn't see this, "Once again, I meant no offense. It was merely my curiosity."

She gripped her kunai tightly again, narrowing her eyes, "Yes, well, you know what they say about curiosity..."

The voice sounded calm and slightly amused, "I rather like my nine lives, or maybe it's eight at the rate I'm going. Either way, I will take my leave of you then."

She felt the chakra disappear again, staying tense for many long moments before she let her stance relax, satisfied that they were gone. She could feel Genma and a few other shinobi making rounds near her location anyway.

She laid back down with a feeling of extreme annoyance. She wasn't sure what that was all about, but the last thing she needed was someone making a habit of having late-night chats with her. Sighing and seeing she only had about two hours left before work she dragged herself out of bed reluctantly and readied herself, soon heading out the door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura returned to the village around seven in the evening, feeling sweaty and exhausted, just wanting to give her report and head back home. She usually couldn't sleep but she hoped it would hit her tonight.

That morning had been crazy. Two different teams sent out on what should have been routine missions, only to get intercepted by some group that called themselves Twilight. Obviously a reference at the meaning of Akatsuki, Dawn. Though at first it looked like just another Akatsuki copy group, it was obvious really quick that it was just a bunch of shinobi that were either missing-nin or had been too much of failures to be decent shinobi and had to resort to being bandits. All they seemed to do was kill as they please and steal. It was disgusting to her, really. So her morning had been spent healing the survivors of that particular encounter, then the rest of the day had been spent dispatched with Kiba, Neji, and Kakashi to deal with whatever members of Twilight they could find. Some of them were rather skilled, she'd give them that, but a good deal of them were weak cowards once the strong ones were dealt with and managed to run away.

She followed the team to Tsunade, sort of zoned out as Kakashi explained the situation to her. Her thoughts drifted to the other night. She wondered what the deal was with the intruder outside her house. Her eyes lazily drifted to Kiba and Neji. Kiba might play such a practical joke on her, but she couldn't see Neji doing anything of the sort. As for Kakashi, well... she figured she'd have seen his face stuck in a book in silhouette easily enough. The thought almost made her chuckle.

"Sakura?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts to see the team and Tsunade staring at her, making her cheeks light up red, "Umm, yes, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade shook her head, "I was asking if you'd given any thoughts to the jounin exams. They'll be coming up soon enough and you've had several recommendations."

Sakura would have jumped at the chance, but she cautioned herself to think it over. Yes, it would give her access to higher rank missions. She might even have a better chance of coming across Sasuke in her travels. However, she knew there were risks with taking such missions. The hours for a jounin were also much more demanding, basically being on call at any point, night or day.

She gave a slow nod, "I'll consider it. It would be nice to advance, but I don't think it's a decision to rush."

Tsunade nodded at the wisdom in her statement and put some papers aside from the recent report, "Alright. The jounin exams will be in about a month, so you have plenty of time to think about it. You four are dismissed. Get some rest."

Rest. Right. She certainly hoped.

She walked out of the Hokage's building with the team, the four of them splitting up toward their respective homes. Kiba walked with Sakura for a bit as their homes were in a similar direction for a few blocks. After a moment, Sakura turned her head to look at Kiba, "So, odd question, but what were you doing last night? Around... four, maybe?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow, wondering why Sakura was asking, but shrugged, "Me and Akamaru were sleeping." Akamaru barked and wagged his tail as if to emphasize that statement.

He tipped his head a bit, his eyes still confused, "Why do you ask?"

Sakura laughed nervously and shook her head, "Oh, no reason. I thought I heard someone moving around the village last night, didn't know who was sleeping and who was out training or whatever."

Kiba shrugged, finding it a little odd, but taking her reason with no complaint.

The two split off toward their respective homes, Sakura thinking. It hadn't been Kiba, then. Unless he'd been lying to cover his ass, but his confusion had looked all-too authentic to her.

Her eyes scanned the outside of her apartment, as if expecting to see someone perched outside her window. Of course, no one was there. That was just silly. She went inside and found to her annoyance that she wasn't tired enough for sleep. Unable to think of anything to do, she decided to take a shower.

She stripped down and started the water, not even waiting for it to get hot before she slipped in and under the water. After the last mission they had, the cold water actually felt rather good. She sighed when the water finally turned hot, feeling nice on her aching muscles. Yes, this was definitely what she needed.

She grabbed her bar of soap and started washing, her eyes moving to a few bottles in the corner. Neglected shampoo and conditioner. She couldn't remember the last time she touched them. Lately she'd just been soaping up her hair for the sake of hygiene and that was it. She found it... pointless, to worry about her appearance. It wasn't like anyone cared, or that she cared if anyone cared.

Something felt odd with her that night though and she decided to break into them for the first time in a while.

She eventually came out of the shower, toweling her hair dry and giving it a brushing out. It wasn't a bad feeling, having her hair groomed. She didn't much want to start making a habit of it again, but it was... nice.

She found her stomach growling and padded into her kitchen nook for some food. She wrinkled her nose at most of the food in her refrigerator being past expiration. She really needed to stop eating out so much. It was making her lose track of her own food.

She managed to find a cup ramen Naruto had brought to her recently and sighed in relief, boiling up some water. She poured it in and waited, her eyes traveling to the ceiling.

Naruto.

After the last fiasco with the village being destroyed, he'd gone off to train with Yamato and Sai. Tsunade kept Kakashi and Sakura in the village for different reasons.

She sighed. How much stronger could he possibly get. How was she ever supposed to catch up to him? Granted, he was still technically a genin and herself a chunin, but she wasn't dumb. She knew that didn't matter. He was easily jounin level, he'd just been gone a long time. She wondered if there was ever a case of a shinobi going straight from genin to jounin. It seemed like a waste of time for Naruto to wait for the next chunin exams when the jounin exams were just around the corner.

She sighed and ate her ramen, now done. Maybe she'd do the jounin exams after all. It would help her catch up, at least a little. Though a small part of her brain felt it was a superficial title.

She finished and laid in bed, her eyes moving to look at the moon. It was almost full. Maybe a couple more days and it would be completely full. She let her eyes drift shut, trying to will her body to relax and get some rest.

There was a flicker of movement just outside her window and the very, very soft creak of a foot landing quietly on her windowsill. Instinctively her eyes flew open and a kunai was already gone from her hand, sailing out the window and into a nearby telephone pole.

A deep voice sounded amused, though just as quiet as it was the other night, "You're quite jumpy."

"Well I'm not exactly used to having strange people just park outside my window," she replied dryly. Another kunai was ready between her fingers, watching her window intently.

The voice once again sounded amused, though no less apologetic, "I apologize. I'm not used to announcing myself when hiding outside someone's window."

Despite herself, Sakura couldn't help the small lift at the corner of her mouth, "So this is a habit of yours, then? Stalking outside people's windows?"

She heard a slight chuckle, then the voice, "Not a habit yet. I suppose it's starting to look like one."

Sakura looked at the clock then raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "You must be the bravest peeping tom on the planet, to be doing this at only nine."

"If I don't wish to be seen, I'm not seen," the man didn't sound arrogant, merely like he was speaking an absolute truth. She supposed it was true, or he wouldn't be here a second time. Thought that lead to another thought...

"You know, I really should capture you, or call the guards. Something. I don't think you're supposed to be out there. Unless this is a prank from someone I know. Then maybe I should climb out and kick your ass."

There was no response for a moment except for a few odd noises that she soon recognized as someone trying to suppress light laughter, "You're certainly... direct. Not a lot of people say exactly what they're thinking."

Sakura shrugged at the statement, "Why sugarcoat things in life? It's the same as lying to me. Dishonest. When people are forward about their feelings and intentions, it's easier to build bonds of trust."

The other shinobi nodded a bit at her statement, "I suppose this is true. Though shinobi are masters of deception and hiding, so it hardly fits." Then the voice got a somewhat amused sound to it again, "So then... does that mean you're trying to build a bond of trust with me?"

She huffed, "Hardly. Though I suppose if you were here to kill me, you would have done so instead of just sitting out there." She finally lowered her kunai an inch, watching her window carefully still, "So my question is... why are you here?"

The man was silent for a moment then murmured, "I'd heard about you. From different sources. You affect people almost as much as Uzumaki Naruto does. You seemed intriguing and I was curious as to what kind of person you are."

Sakura was surprised at this statement. She wasn't really anyone particularly remarkable, so why would any word spread about her? Then she felt a bit defensive. This person knew Naruto. Too many people who knew about Naruto also wanted to take him away. At the very least, after seeing Naruto wasn't here last night, he probably wouldn't have returned so soon hoping to find otherwise if Naruto was really his goal. Furthermore, a shinobi would have done their research ahead of time and would know Naruto was gone. Even still, his statement left her uneasy, like there was still something being hidden from her, "Why do I get a feeling that wasn't the entire truth."

The man chuckled a little, "My apologies. Unlike you, I'm afraid I'm too used to deception to tell a pure and entire truth."

She found herself amused somewhat, "Though you're able to be honest about a deception, it seems."

"Touche."

The two chuckled a bit before Sakura thought about it, "What exactly did you mean, anyway? What did you come to learn? You realize that as a shinobi, it would be reckless to just give information about myself to a stranger. That's just asking to have it exploited."

There was a pause before he replied, "I realize that. I'm just curious about your personality, I suppose. Your hopes, your fears."

Her voice came out wry, "Oh, is that all?"

His voice held a small smile, "Pretty steep, I suppose."

"Extremely."

He was silent for another moment, then turned to look at his neighbor on the windowsill, touching the leaves lightly, "I see you like plants."

Sakura let out a small laugh, "We're going to talk about my plants?"

"Is that prying too deeply?"

She sighed a bit, trying not to laugh, "No, I suppose not. Yes, I'm a medic. I used to keep just herbs but I also like keeping flowers around here for some color."

"The flowers are wilting," he mused.

She shrugged, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "Yeah, well... shinobi are busy and all that."

"Yet the herbs are well-kept."

She let a bit of annoyance seep into her tone, "Yes, well, the herbs actually have medicinal properties. The flowers are just decoration. With my schedule, if it comes down to watering what I have time for, obviously I'd prioritize the plants that actually have use."

He gave a sort of "hmm" noise, not really agreeing with her but not willing to turn this into an argument. After all, if one already had some water, they weren't going to water one and not the other. An extra second or two meant nothing. There was obviously another reason she was neglecting the flowers. Some personal reason, maybe?

"Do you see a bit of yourself in those flowers?"

She frowned and looked at her window, "What is that supposed to mean?" She noted her voice sounded a bit more defensive than she wanted.

"Well, I just wonder if your refusal to take care of the flowers hints toward a lack of self-worth. If you are frustrated with yourself and are taking it out on the flowers you cared enough to obtain but not to care for."

Sakura's wrist snapped and the kunai flew from her fingers toward the shadow. The shadow moved before he was hit and disappeared from her view entirely. After a few minutes, it seemed he wasn't coming back.

She laid back in her bed, surprised to find tears of frustration in her eyes, just at the corners. What he said was wrong. She had self-worth. What the hell did he know anyway?

So then why did it feel like he'd struck a nerve? He'd gotten such a sharp response from her. Maybe subconsciously she agreed with him. Her eyes moved to the flowers, a sad look to her eyes. She shook her head after a moment and tried to drift off to sleep. Whoever it was, they didn't know a damn thing about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's the beginning. Hope you're interested. Will be interesting to see how long it takes my cover to be blown. Lord knows I can fail pretty catastrophically when it comes to trying to conceal someone's identity.


	2. Chapter 2

Ino sighed behind the counter, idly picking at the leaves of a gardenia plant. She had no missions that day, so her mother had seen fit to ask her to watch the flower shop again. It felt like she was little all over again. The next thing she'd know, she'd see Sakura walking through the front door.

She almost did a double take, noting that Sakura indeed had entered, looking a bit self-conscious, something she hadn't seen of the pink-haired girl in a long time.

Ino leaned against the counter, her voice playful, "Here for some flowers, forehead?"

Sakura nearly jumped, looking up to see that Ino was working here today of all days. She stuck out her tongue, "Hey there, Ino-pig."

Ino leaned back and observed her old friend, "Hmm... though honestly it's been a while since you've been by here. You'd been so stuck on work I didn't think you had much time for anything else."

Sakura looked sheepish, shrugging as she moved around from plant-to-plant, "I'm not here for flowers. At least, I wasn't... I don't know." She looked less sheepish and more conflicted now, "I mean, at this time in my life, flowers aren't really going to help me..."

Ino rolled her eyes, "I don't know, you seem pretty tense nowadays. Flowers help to make a home feel colorful and serene. It's exactly the sort of atmosphere you need to come home to."

Sakura shrugged a bit, not really sure if she agreed or not. Who cared anymore if she was comfortable with her home. It was just a bed to sleep in. She wasn't a child anymore, where she wanted a mirror and flowers and little figurines on her dresser. Where she wanted her room to look as beautiful as she felt because it made her feel special. That was a child's game.

She had to admit that her sleeping had gotten bad lately and her mentality even worse. Being in her apartment felt more suffocating than comfortable. She felt confined and she felt alone. It gave her time to think about too much of the bad things of the past years.

She sighed, running a finger down the petal of a rather brilliant-looking hibiscus, "I.. I have work. Maybe I'll come back for some flowers on the way home." She smiled at Ino then left the shop.

Ino sighed. When had Sakura's smile looked so fake and shallow? Regardless, she had a feeling Sakura wouldn't be back. She forced a smile on her face as she heard a customer come in, getting back into the groove of her work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura sighed as she got home, not bothering with a shower this time as she stripped out of her outer gear and plopped into bed, her whole body sore. As expected, she hadn't gone by Ino's shop on the way home. She didn't see a need. She closed her eyes and let herself feel like she was sinking into her bed, sighing as her muscled relaxed slightly.

She found herself wanting to drift off, feeling more relaxed than usual. The moon lit up her room so that she didn't have to turn on a light and give herself a headache and the smell in her room made her feel relaxed and... wait, what?

She opened her eyes and looked at her window. Her same pots were there, but the flowers had been replaced. New, fresh ones were sitting in her window, the breeze wafting their smell through her apartment. It wasn't entirely unpleasant but she wondered who did it. She also felt a bit irritated because obviously someone was in or around her apartment without her consent.

"I hope I picked flowers you like. Your friend said you liked a lot of these when you were a child, but I know tastes change."

Sakura jolted at hearing her shadow's voice again, seeing him in his usual spot just to the side, just enough to still be standing on the windowsill. She wanted to be frustrated that he snuck over again and had the nerve to change out her plants. She found herself more curious about how he did it, though, "Ino? You spoke with her? How did you pull that off?"

The voice sounded a bit sheepish, "Ah. Well... I may have used a genjutsu on her so she wouldn't know who she was talking to."

Sakura sighed and laid back in her bed, "I'm really not sure if you're a help or an annoyance in my life right now, but I'm leaning toward annoyance."

"You seemed to be enjoying the flowers until you realized they were there." He seemed amused with the absurdity of his statement.

She blushed and looked away from her window, "I just lost myself. Speaking of getting lost..."

The voice murmured solemnly, "If you wish for me to leave again, I will."

Did she.. hurt his feelings? She inwardly sighed. Great, now she felt bad. Though... she felt bad about, what? Hurting the feelings of a strange, possibly criminal man who seemed to be developing a habit of lurking outside her window at night?

She groaned in frustration, "I don't know. You are the one that pushed yourself on me, after all. I was just trying to live my life."

"I apologize. I didn't mean to interfere, I was merely curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Satisfaction brought him back."

Sakura snorted in a bit of a laugh, "Oh that's a bullshit line the curious people made up to excuse themselves and everyone knows it."

The man seemed to be smiling in his voice, "Still, it amused you."

Sakura shrugged, "Okay, you win that one."

"I win? Does that mean I can have a prize?"

Her voice was wary, "Like what?"

"Just an answer to a question, that's all."

Sakura thought, then sighed, "Fine, fine. But I reserve the right at any time to decide if the question is inappropriate and to not answer it."

The man chuckled then shifted, as if settling himself in for a long story, "Alright. Tell me about your childhood."

Okay, yeah, that was kind of a long story.

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh, "You're kidding, right?" Please be kidding...

"Nope," the voice replied almost cheerfully.

She sighed and watched the window warily, "If I tell you, will you go away and let me sleep?"

"For tonight."

She groaned and threw her covers over her head, but when it seemed like his presence wasn't going anywhere any time soon, she sighed, and uncovered her head, her eyes shifting to the ceiling.

"I was born into the village, much like my parents before me. I wanted to be a really good ninja and even when I was young I read up all sorts of books on jutsu and the rules of being a ninja. I was excited at the prospect.

When I went to the academy though, I got bullied a lot. The kids made fun of me for my big forehead and how timid I was. I made it worse by covering it up, making them realize they had hit just the nerve they wanted. It wasn't until Ino helped me get over my self-consciousness about it by showing off my forehead instead that I started to make friends."

Her voice dropped to be a bit quieter, trying not to lose her composure, "Me and her fell for the same boy, though. Uchiha Sasuke. Granted, a lot of the girls in our class did, but it was different with me and her. It was hard to be friends and rivals and for a long time we became nothing but rivals. Enemies. It was hard to bear at times, because I knew she was also that same person who had helped me blossom into my own so long ago.

The laugh was on her though. I was the one chosen to be in Sasuke's team, along with Naruto. I was.. very childish and set in my ways back then. I wasn't much of a ninja. I had the brains for it, but I was never a match for Naruto and Sasuke. I always lagged behind them, chasing after Sasuke with no regard for being a true kunoichi. It took the chunin exams for me to realize just how much I'd been letting the two of them carry me through every situation. It took them for me to realize that sometimes rules need to be broken. That the rulebook isn't absolute. They taught me to care deeply about your teammates and that a sharp kunai and even sharper wit are more important than stupid, fleeting things like doing your nails and going after boys."

The voice murmured, "Sometimes rules need to be broken, huh..?"

Sakura looked to the window, "Well of course. I care for my village deeply, but I'm not about to follow their rules blindly if it means that someone close to me could get hurt or killed because of it. Kakashi-sensei is the one that taught us that shinobi that abandon their comrades for the sake of rules are worse than trash. Worse trash than the so-called trash that disobey the shinobi rules in the first place."

There was a long silence before the voice spoke softly, "I'm sorry... continue..."

She noticed that the man seemed bothered but sighed and continued on, "During the chunin exam though, Sasuke was marked by Orochimaru. Eventually it led to him being taken from us. I couldn't convince him to stay and Naruto couldn't bring him back. We're not sure where he is anymore. We just know he wants to destroy Konohagakure. I'm not sure what happened when he killed his brother, but he's... he's angry. Very much so."

The man gave her a moment, hearing her distress in her voice, then spoke, "I notice our conversation has shifted from you to Sasuke..."

Sakura shook her head, "I'm sorry... Sasuke is just..."

"He's a large part of your life, I see."

She could only nod, wiping her eyes as she felt moisture gathering in them, "You could definitely say that..."

After a moment, he spoke softly, "So you mentioned the chunin exam. Did you pass?"

She nodded again, "Yeah. Not that time, though. Orochimaru waged war on Konoha with Suna. It made it difficult to continue. We only had one person from our village make it to chunin when all was said and done. Over the years, though, we've taken the exams again and again. Most of my graduating class are chunin or jounin now."

"Which are you?"

She shrugged, "I'm chunin still. The jounin exams are in a month, though. I was told I should try for it."

"Are you going to?"

She sighed, "I.. I don't really know. There are definitely ups and downs to it. In the end, I'm put in a lot of jounin-type missions anyway when huge things come up. Even if I'm not a jounin yet, the Hokage treats me as such. It's just a title, so... I'm not sure."

She heard him stand up slowly, his voice quieter than before, "Well, think about it. It may be just a title, but it's a title that shows that the village recognizes your skill. That it's not just theorized or assumed, but proven."

She nodded a bit, "I'll consider it. I didn't think of it that way."

She heard the barest of smiles in his voice, though she could still feel something about their conversation before had bothered him, "Goodnight, Sakura."

"Goodnight."

She felt his presence leave her before she even finished the word but didn't mind it too much.

It was weird, talking about her past to someone like him. Someone she didn't know. But looking back on all she said, she'd been pretty good at not saying anything that could be used against her. Her teammates were common knowledge and he had interacted with Ino before she even mentioned what close friends they were.

It was true that jounin was just a title for her, but... he was right. She had felt so long like she was lagging behind her teammates. Like she wasn't sure if she'd kept up with them at all. Wouldn't taking the jounin exams confirm that for her?

She curled up, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent of the flowers outside her window.

As she drifted off to sleep, she had to admit that as cheesy as it was, it was kind of sweet of him to get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels like I wrote a lot more than I really did, lol. It's a shorter chapter but I'm going to leave it there for now. I'll try to make the next chapter more substantial. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, the story is going to deviate heavily from the main plot. There will be some similarities and the whole thing with Madara and Obito is probably going to come up eventually, but there will be enough differences that I feel I should point that out.

She offended him.

That's the only thing she could think of. He hadn't been by to talk to her in a week now.

Though at the very least, she had a feeling that he didn't hold it entirely against her. Even though she was still bad at neglecting her flowers, they were still getting watered. There were two separate nights where she'd stayed up the entire night to try to catch him in the act, but he never came. Then she'd come home from missions to find them watered, guessing that he snuck there in broad daylight somehow to get it done.

As annoying as it had been, she almost just wished he'd show his face again. Well... figuratively. Having him sneaking around regardless but not communicating was a bit unnerving.

It wasn't until late on the eight day of his absence that she finally heard from him again.

It had been another rough day of hunting down more of these Twilight creeps. No matter how many they hunted down, more seemed to be cropping up daily. It had also been one of those rare days where she'd decided to take a bit more care of herself. She'd even watered her own flowers.

She sat on her bed after her shower, brushing out her hair and humming a tune that had been on the radio that night when she heard the voice outside her window, sounding amused, "You actually watered them yourself, I see?"

Sakura felt a flutter in her chest and berated herself. Had she actually been hoping to talk to him? It was a weird feeling. Part of her felt she needed to apologize from last time. Maybe it was guilt then.

She shrugged, continuing to brush her hair. She didn't bother to look over her shoulder at the window, knowing he wouldn't show himself anyway, "I guess I did."

"Good day, then?"

She shook her head, letting out a slight laugh, "That's the funny part, it wasn't even a good day. It was actually a rather frustrating day. I just felt watering them was appropriate somehow, that's all."

After a moment she murmured, "So, been busy lately?"

Despite trying to sound like she was unconcerned, she could almost hear a grin in the person's voice, "Were you waiting for me, Sakura?"

Feeling heat pooling up in her face, she sputtered then threw her hairbrush out her window. Judging from the lack of noise afterward, he'd caught the brush before it could hit something. It was tossed onto her bed after a moment, the voice chuckling, "I'm sorry, I truly couldn't help myself."

She huffed but shook her head, heading to the bathroom to put up her brush. She came back and flopped onto her bed, squinting out her window. Seeing that even with her bedroom light on, he was going to be impossible to see, she turned off her light, "Oh, I'm sure you couldn't help it."

He chuckled but said nothing, knowing she'd been trying to see him. As he'd said before though, if he didn't want to be seen, he wasn't seen. It was just the truth.

After a moment, her voice broke through his thoughts, rather soft, "Um, so... I'm sorry. If something I said before insulted you."

There was a long pause before she heard him again, "Oh, you mean about your past? Don't worry about it, it wasn't anything like that." He seemed to be thinking of the best way to put it, "I've.. spent my entire shinobi life playing by the rules. To a fault. Hearing that from you just kind of made me question certain things in my life, that's all. It was hard to hear someone say." She heard him chuckle, "So it wasn't really that you missed me, you just felt bad? Disappointing. Though I wasn't avoiding you. Your guards around the village almost caught me the night after, so I've had to keep my visits as brief as possible so they'd let their guard down again. I couldn't really afford to sit and talk with you."

Sakura almost wanted to slap her palm to her forehead. All the time that she sat there feeling bad, thinking he'd taken offense, and he was just trying to not get caught. Talk about over-thinking things. She looked rather sheepish, "Ah, well.. at least you didn't get caught." She realized what she said and groaned. Now she was happy a possible criminal was avoiding the law.

Her shadow seemed to have a similar thought to hers and chuckled in response to her words.

Though she was quick to pick up on something else, "So... a criminal who plays by the rules, huh? Doesn't that seem like a bit of a conflict of interest?"

She heard a shifting of cloth in what she assumed was a shrug from how his shadow moved, "There's a story to that. Long one."

She tipped her head, unable to help but wonder, "I'm a good listener."

He heard the hope in her voice and chuckled, "Nice try."

"I'm rather curious now."

"You know what they say about curiosity..."

She scoffed, "Oh, I hardly want to hear that from you of all people."

She heard him chuckle and couldn't help but smile.

They lapsed into a silence for a while before Sakura murmured, "So, I put in my papers for the jounin exams."

"Really?" he seemed almost pleased, if his voice was an indication, "What made you decide?"

"Well..." she blushed a bit in the darkness, "It was actually what you said before. It may just be a title to me, but as you said, it's also proof that I'm not the only one that knows my strength. I won't have to wonder about how I measure up to my comrades."

"So you value my opinion then?"

She huffed at his teasing tone and rolled her eyes, "It's more just that your words made sense, even if I tried to blow them off as the words of an idiot."

There was a long silence and she wondered if she'd been offensive. Then the voice muttered, "Idiot...? I don't think anyone's ever called me an idiot.."

The almost child-like wonder in his voice made it hard to resist and she broke out into a fit of laughter. Her shadow joined her with a small chuckle, so at least it seemed like he wasn't mad. She eventually stopped laughing and wiped her eyes, which had watered with her laughter, "I'm sorry, that was just too priceless."

She heard her shadow stiffen then dash off into the night, her forehead creasing with confusion. A moment later, she heard a knock on her door and it made sense. She supposed he'd seen the person coming before she'd felt them. Judging from the rapid knocking, she guessed...

"Naruto," she muttered, leaning in the doorway with an annoyed look on her face, "Are you aware it's three in the mornin-"

"Was someone in here?"

Sakura blinked, then laughed it off, nervously hoping Naruto would let it go, "No, I was just laughing to myself."

Naruto looked skeptical but then shook his head, "Eh, that's not important right now. They found Sasuke. In a small village in the Land of Lightning!"

Sakura's eyes widened, "Is he close?"

"Around the border, from what I heard. The old lady gave us permission to go with a small group and try to intercept him."

Sakura nodded, suddenly uncaring what time it was. She ran into her apartment, throwing on her gear and packing herself up, "I'll be at the bridge in five minutes."

Naruto nodded and disappeared in a puff. A shadow clone, obviously. She should have noticed, but she'd been too occupied. She looked to her window briefly but it seemed that even with Naruto's clone gone, he'd given up for the night. That was fine, she had important things to do. Like finding her ex-teammate and giving him a piece of her mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three days later saw Sakura back in her room, foul mood in tow. A waste of a trip! Sasuke had actually been there a couple of _weeks_ ago rather than a couple of days. The trail was cold before they even arrived. To make matters worse, the notice to the Raikage didn't make it apparently and Kumogakure was _not_ pleased to have Leaf shinobi suddenly in their territory.

Considering the damage Pain's assault had done to their village, Kumogakure was the most powerful of the shinobi villages now. It took a lot of political strategy on Tsunade's part to calm down the Raikage and explain the situation. Even then, she had a feeling the hulking man still didn't completely believe or trust their story.

She took off her outer wear and tossed it down hard, grumbling and grabbing an apple from the fridge. She sat on her bed and took a bite into it, glaring at her bedsheets, "I know you're there."

The shadow sounded quiet today, cautious, "Yes, I'm here. You seem pretty angry, though, so I thought it wise to keep my mouth shut."

Sakura couldn't help the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, almost a smile, "Most guys don't seem to grasp that concept when a woman is angry."

"I guess I'm a bit strange."

She shrugged, not about to deny that he did act a bit strange.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Sakura thought about his question before sitting up, resting her upper body weight on her elbows, "Yeah, you can share something this time." At the silence that followed she groaned, almost whining, "Oh come on. I gave you my life story, I can't even have an anecdote?"

The shadow was still silent, then gave a bit of a sigh, "I suppose you're right."

She blinked. She was right? So was she going to get to hear something, then?

She had to wait a few minutes. She was almost sure he wasn't going to tell. Then his voice broke through the night, "My father wasn't always the most loving type. My mother had more of that role, but young boys always kind of hope it of their father. I'm sure his father was the same way to him, so it was probably hard for him.

It wasn't that he didn't love me, I don't think. It was more like... he treasured me for what I was, not who I was. He had big plans for me from the day I was born, apparently. I was raised as a genius shinobi and he trained me diligently. However, when it came to treating me like a son, he fell short. As a boy, you can imagine how much that wounded me.

There were times he made up for it, though. Little random acts of affection that seemed to come awkwardly from nowhere but warmed me all the same.

Like the candy. After every shinobi mission of his, he'd come back with candy for me from some far-off land. Delicacies from different countries. I wasn't allowed to have sweets very often, so it was something special to me that he'd let me try such a wide array of them from his away trips. He'd give me the candy and ruffle my hair, saying he was home. I'd welcome him home and sit on the steps while I listened to him tell my mother of how his mission went and ate my candy. My mother would go inside after, my father would drink some sake, and we'd just sit on the back porch until it was late and he would shoo me off to bed. Even though he didn't say much, it was my favorite sort of time. It almost felt like he was letting me know I was one of the few people he could just relax and unwind around. It made me feel special."

He was quiet for several moments after and she realized he was done with his story. She let on a soft smile, her thoughts on her own parents, "It sounds nice. Your father had difficulties, but he loved you, in his own way."

"Yes."

She tipped her head a bit, "Do you still see your father?"

His voice was a bit darker now, a bit quieter, "No. He was killed."

She bit her lip, feeling like an ass for asking, "Oh.. I'm sorry."

"Yeah.. me too." His voice was nothing but a whisper now.

She bit her lip, then murmured, "You should go. Genma and the others will be making their rounds near here soon. Come by tomorrow, I'll have something for you."

If the shadow was curious about her statement, he didn't say so. He only gave a small nod then vanished.

She sighed and laid back. She hadn't meant to remind him of something that sad. She supposed, though, that when you think of the good memories, they sometimes lead to the memories of the bad.

She'd kept thinking of her visitor as a criminal. A villain that just happened to have nice moments. It was strange now that, along with this image of a dangerous killer, she could now see that small boy, nibbling happily on a piece of candy while he sat in the peaceful night with his father.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura paced around her room a bit the next evening. He was late. Or maybe, her mind whispered, he wasn't going to come at all. Perhaps she'd somehow set him off last night. Was she always going to be paranoid about offending him? She reasoned that maybe part of her paranoia stemmed from the possibility of him killing her once he was bored with her.

Why was she even thinking about showing him this, anyway? She looked down at the book in her hands, sighing lightly to herself.

She perked when she heard the almost soundless footfalls as her shadow landed on her windowsill.

"Running a little late, huh?"

The shadow chuckled a bit, "Your guard seems to have tightened their patrol around the village."

She wondered about that idly but shrugged it off, "Well, I said I had something for you."

"Indeed."

She walked closer to the window, stopping when the windowsill creaked, her shadow about to flee, "No, wait! I won't peek, I promise." She closed her eyes, reaching a hand out to hand him the book she was holding. He regarded her a moment before sticking out his hand and taking the book. She turned off the lights and sat in bed, opening her eyes again and letting them adjust to the dark. Luckily it was light out enough for him to see.

"Is this... you?"

Sakura chuckled a bit, "Well, you were curious before about my childhood. There are some pictures from it. Mostly me and Ino, but there are a few others in there."

"Wow... you really _do_ have a big forehead."

She gawked at the window, "H-Hey! That's rude!"

The shadow chuckled a bit, "I'm sorry." He was silent other than the occasional page turn, the shadow soon stopping on a certain page, "That's... Sasuke, yes?"

She frowned a bit suspiciously, "Yes... how do you know that?"

The shadow smiled at her tone, though she wouldn't see it, "The crest on his shirt."

She rolled her eyes. Stupid Sakura, of course. Just about every shirt he owned as a kid had that crest. Even outsiders could identify the famous Uchiha clan.

The book was soon closed and placed just inside her window, on the end of her bed, "Thank you for showing me that. It was nice to see. You were quite a cute little girl."

She grinned a bit, "Wasn't I, though?"

The shadow almost had a bit of a grin in their voice, "I wonder what on earth happened..."

She let out a bit of a shriek of outrage when the insult registered and threw her pillow at the window, her visitor laughing a bit before vanishing into the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura kept reminding herself in her head that she needed to remember the exact borders of their country as she took long strides into the surrounding forests. She needed some training, but tearing up the terrain near the village wasn't something she thought Tsunade would appreciate. So she decided to go deep in the woods where people wouldn't miss a few trees and some lifted ground. She got deep enough and far enough away from the village that she could see little animals watching her curiously. Even a crow sat on a tree branch watching her curiously.

She couldn't find a good clearing for this to start so she simply got down and did a few stretches before putting on her gloves and slamming her fist into a nearby tree. The tree creaked then broke with an ear-splitting crack, flying into another tree that it bent in half as it flew.

"Well," she grinned, "That's one way to clear a forest."

The jounin exams were now two weeks away, she wanted to be in peak condition for it. She spent a good part of the afternoon tearing up the landscape, knocking down trees, and generally causing massive amounts of collateral damage before she was done. Eventually she stopped and sat on a stump, panting softly, "Damn.. I might have gone overboard."

"I'll say."

She tensed at the voice, _her_ voice, coming from behind one of the few trees left standing in the clearing. It had been so long that they'd been talking that she wasn't too scared for her safety, but the thought occurred to her that if she was fast enough, maybe she could get around the tree and...

"Don't think about it, Sakura." His voice sounded amused, knowing what she was planning, "This is just a clone anyway. I can just make it vanish."

She huffed, a bit of disappointment on her face, "Ugh.. one of these days I'll get to see you."

He chuckled a bit, "But the mystery makes this more fun."

She put her hands behind her against the stump and reclined backward a bit, bracing herself with her arms, "So, pretty bold, to come out in broad daylight to see me."

He smiled lightly to himself, "Well, you picked quite a remote spot. I didn't see the harm."

"Other than possible brain damage from getting hit with a tree?"

"Of course, other than that."

The two laughed a little. She eyed him from her spot, noting that she could see a _little_ of him around the sides. The tree was just narrow enough that she could see he was in a black cloak. A black cloak with red clouds-

She narrowed her eyes a bit, feeling a knot in the pit of her stomach. She was almost wishing he hadn't come out in broad daylight. All the nights of talking, all the comfort and companionship, and it felt ruined. She had trusted someone who wasn't just a possible criminal, he _was_ a criminal. With the one organization that had given them the most trouble recently.

"You know... with how poorly your organization has been doing lately, I'm surprised you have the time to see me so much..."

She saw him tip his head just slightly to look down at himself, hearing what sounded like a curse, though his voice was so quiet she couldn't tell. His voice was low and soothing, trying to placate her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"You didn't mean to get caught?"

Despite her growing anger, the voice stayed patient and soft, "No... Well, I suppose that wouldn't be a total lie.. it's true, I wish I had planned this better and worn something a bit less revealing, but I _am_ sorry I deceived you. I just didn't think you would have talked to me had you known I was a member of Akatsuki."

She stood up, her eyes narrowed, "Well at least you know me well enough to know that."

"But I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?" she demanded, "Why did you need to talk to me so much? Why do we have these late night conversations? What do you _want_ from me?"

He was silent for a short time, figuring that taking too long to respond would end badly, but wanting to say things right, "...at first, it was because I was curious. We have a mutual acquaintance who had words to say about you and it made me curious. Of course, you've given me more than enough information about you and, to be honest, I've given you a bit too much information about myself than I should have. But.. it's just..." His voice was surprisingly hesitant, "I... enjoy our talks.. As you can imagine, Akatsuki is not an organization big on trust, talks, and pleasant conversation. It's rare that we all even meet in person, to be honest. You just sort of... brought a bright part to my otherwise dark days, that's all."

She tensed, not sure how to feel about what was said. On one hand, she was tense and angry about the revelation. She was also intensely curious about his identity, as there weren't really all that many Akatsuki left alive that they knew of. Though he'd hinted in their conversations several times that he seemed to have nine lives, but was down by one. Did that mean that one didn't die that they thought they'd killed?

Despite her anger and curiosity, she felt a strange warmth in her chest at his words. He'd come to talk to her because he enjoyed her company? She found it hard to believe and scolded the part of her that was hopeful that it was the truth.

He felt her hesitation and slowly came out from behind the tree, advancing on her as her eyes widened in recognition and shock. She was rooted to the spot, unable to make herself move or speak out of sheer surprise. Even as he got closer and cradled her face in his hands, it was all she could do to keep from her legs giving out under her. His thumb brushed her cheek as he looked down into her eyes, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to hurt the trust we had been building. And I'm sorry to break that trust again now."

She wanted to ask what he meant, but at that moment his lips descended on hers, soft but with such a deep longing that it took her breath away. He pulled away from her and all she saw was his eyes. She drowned in them, even as their color shifted and the world was seemingly pulled out from under her, turning to black as she lost consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I wrote about 7-8 different iterations of this chapter before I decided on this and even then, I'm not entirely happy. I knew what I wanted to happen in this chapter, the execution of it just wasn't quite up to the level I'd like. But I don't think I'm going to be able to make this any better than it is now. I hope it's good enough.
> 
> Song this time was Shattered by Trading Yesterday.

Sakura's eyes opened to greet not the sky, but her ceiling. That was weird, she distinctly remembered going out in the forest to train. Did she pass out? How did she get back to her apartment. She tried to remember but could come up with nothing. Her head felt a bit light but that was about it.

She sat up with a groan, noticing it was also dark outside now. Had she slept the day away? It's not like she could have gotten hurt with the training she was doing, unless she'd accidentally dropped a tree on her head. She felt her skull as if expecting a wound but felt nothing.

"Ah, so you're awake."

She looked to the window, a small frown on her face, "Yeah, I guess so... Not really sure how I got back here."

"You must have over-exerted yourself. You were passed out in the forest."

She blinked and looked toward his figure, "Passed out? How? That was barely a workout." She frowned again, her eyes narrowing, "Wait, you saw me?"

He sounded sheepish but she did notice an odd distance to his tone, "Yes, you aren't very subtle. Anyone would be drawn to the sight of half the forest caving in on itself."

Her eyes stayed narrowed and focused on his silhouette, "Uh huh... And how exactly did you get me back here without getting caught."

"I told you. If I don't wish to be seen, I won't be."

"But you admit that you _did_ bring me back here."

There was a dead silence that let her know that he knew he'd been steered right into that one. He found himself a little mad that he'd fall for that.

"What did you do to me?"

He looked toward her slowly, "What do you mean? I told you, you passed out."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to reign in her temper, "You know, some people call me a mini-Tsunade. I have the same physical strength, chakra control, and medical ability. Do you know, though, what I excel in as well? Something I've excelled in since I was younger."

"...You are a genjutsu-type."

She nodded sharply, "Whatever genjutsu you used on me is strong, I'll give you that. I sincerely can't remember anything from earlier after I started training. I _do_ know that my mind has been tampered with, though. I can feel it. If you're the only one who has seen me between then and now, it stands to reason that it was you."

"I don't deny this."

She smashed her hand down against her bedside table angrily, a crack running down the wooden surface, "Why?" Her voice was sharp and demanding, "What reason could you have for tampering with my memory?"

He sighed lightly, "You saw my identity and I couldn't allow that."

She clenched her teeth, "What, you can't trust me with that? After the amount of time we've spent-"

"You can say that now," he interrupted, his own voice sounding a bit sharp, "but when you found out, things didn't turn out well. I thought things would be less awkward between us if you couldn't remember who I was."

She knew that there was some truth to his words but she was also angry as hell that he'd dare to use a genjutsu on her, "Oh, because the knowledge that you messed with my memory isn't going to make things awkward at all!"

He sighed, the anger gone from his voice, "I will not deny that, either. However, I made the best judgment call I could at the time given the situation. You looked as if the information of my identity made you conflicted and bothered. I myself, I wish for us to continue like we were before this afternoon. I'm sorry that my selfishness brought this about."

She inwardly cursed. It was so damn hard to be mad at him when he was like that. Especially seeing as she really, really wanted to be angry. She glared down at her sheets, not really knowing what to say in response, "Just leave. I want to be alone."

"As you wish, Sakura."

Just as quickly as he'd said that, he was gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three days had passed since that encounter and he'd left her alone as she asked. She had this feeling like he was close by each night, but he made no attempts to contact her. She got the feeling that he wouldn't be bothering her unless she asked him to.

 _Good_ , she thought vehemently. _He can just continue leaving me alone_.

Despite these thoughts, she _was_ a bit lonely again, but she pushed that side. Both out of pride and because she had work to do. Her parents were out on a mission, so she was helping to upkeep their house while they were away in addition to work at the hospital, _plus_ she was still trying to train for the jounin exams.

On the third night, she was walking home from the hospital when there was a commotion at the main gate. It looked like a squad came home worse for the wear. On closer inspection, many of them looked to be in critical condition.

She cursed and had a feeling this would mean overtime for her. She ran back into the hospital, tying up her hair and prepping for anything she might need to administer. She bumped into Shizune, "Oh, Shizune, I just saw a squad at the main gate. They look in pretty bad shape so-"

"Sakura." Shizune's tone made her halt, the older woman having a sad look on her face as she took Sakura's wrist in hers to halt her movements, "You can't be part of this tonight."

Sakura's face twisted in confusion, "Why?"

Shizune looked almost motherly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Sakura... that was the squad your parents were in. You need to leave this to the other doctors. You should go home until we get everyone stable."

Tsunade came up behind Sakura, shaking her head, "Shizune!"

Sakura jolted and looked up at Tsunade fearfully, "What? What happened?"

Tsunade bit her lip, "There are only three members of that squad that even survived... I'm sorry to say, but your parents aren't any of the survivors. I'm so sorry, Sakura..."

Sakura felt like someone had pulled the floor out from under her, her expression stunned. She barely managed to murmur out, "How.. how did this happen...? This was supposed to just be an escort mission. Escorting someone who was practically a nobody."

Tsunade nodded slowly, "Yes, I know. Even though that lord was a bit cocky and thought a bit too highly of himself, no one was out to kill him. Least of all someone powerful enough to take out a squad that strong. No... the other three gave their account to Genma already as they came in. They say they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sasuke thought they were after him and his group..." She trailed off, knowing she didn't have to finish the rest.

Sakura looked up at her mentor, her eyes showing disbelief, "S.. Sasuke... Sasuke did this...?"

Tsunade looked to Sakura sadly, then to Shizune, "Please help her home, Shizune." Her assistant nodded and took Sakura gently by the shoulders. Sakura saw what looked like bodies being brought in but Shizune steered her hard for the door, keeping her head facing forward, "Sakura, you... you really don't want to see this, trust me. That's not the way you should remember your parents."

Sakura could only nod, her eyes dim and unfocused as Shizune led her to her apartment. Shizune was concerned that Sakura didn't even seem to cry right then. She had to be under some heavy shock. Once she had Sakura safely at her apartment she hugged the younger girl, "I'm sorry Sakura. Please try and get some rest."

Sakura nodded faintly and closed the door, heading over to her bed. She sat down, still holding back any urge to cry. _Shinobi Rule #25... No matter what the situation, a shinobi must keep their emotions inside. You must make the mission your top priority and you must possess a heart that never shows tears._ She murmured softly to herself, "Even though this isn't a mission, I can't... I shouldn't..."

Sakura could feel a familiar chakra outside her window, her anger spiking then ebbing as quickly as it came. She didn't need this right now, but at the same time, some small part of her wanted to reach out for him.

It was a conflicting moment for him as well. He wanted to stay true to his word and leave her alone until she called for it, but it was obvious that she was under an enormous amount of distress right then and he wondered if she'd even have the mind to push around her stubbornness and ask for support. Not just from him but anyone.

She wrapped her arms around her legs, fighting back the tears. It didn't seem like she was going to talk so despite his agreement before, he murmured softly, almost carefully, "Sakura..." He wanted to ask if she was alright, but it was obvious the answer was no. He changed direction midway, his voice concerned, "What happened?"

Sakura tensed a little and looked away from the window, her voice drained of the venom she wanted, "I thought you were supposed to be leaving me alone."

He sighed lightly and shook his head, "I was. It's just that you're obviously upset about something big. I wouldn't be breaking our silence if it didn't seem so bad."

She bent her legs in toward her body, resting her head on her knees, "I..." She bit her lip, warring with herself. She'd gotten so used to confiding in him for so long. Him and only him. If there was anyone who she could get this off her chest to, it would be him. Would it be wise, though? She was barely holding it all in as it is. Talking about it might just push her over the edge.

There was a long silence, then he murmured, "Did it have to do with the shinobi who were brought in a bit ago?"

She jolted a bit and hugged her legs tighter, sighing softly, "...yes."

"Did you know any of them personally?"

Her throat felt dried up and she tried to say yes again, only to nod, not even sure if he saw it. When she next looked up there was a small bottle next to the candle by her bed, on the windowsill. She gingerly took it with a shaky hand, sniffing the contents. She wrinkled her nose a bit, her voice dulled but somewhat curious, "Sake? I didn't take you for one to drink sake."

He gave a slight chuckle, "I don't. I prefer tea to that stuff. My partner is the one that drinks that."

She looked down at it. She didn't drink much either, much to her teacher's chagrin, but she supposed she could make an exception this time. Especially for such a small bottle. She uncorked it and held it up a bit almost like in a toast, "To your partner's wallet, then." Grimacing at her hoarse voice, she took a sip of the sake. It was definitely strong but her mouth was at least a bit more wet and able to talk.

She looked down at the bed as she took another sip, her voice quiet after a moment, "My parents were part of that group."

It was silent for a minute before she heard him speak, "I'm sorry. I know that words can't nearly fill a wound that deep, but I feel for your loss."

She took another sip, letting the soft burn run down her throat and fill her body with its warmth, "They were just on a routine escort. Some nobody lord that wanted a bunch of shinobi as a guard to feel important." Her voice wavered a bit, "They ran into Sasuke... and he thought they'd come to get him, I guess, so he..." She clenched her teeth, feeling herself starting to break down, but getting on a roll now. She felt maybe the alcohol was to blame. She truly couldn't keep her liquor. She put the drink aside, her fingers lacing into her hair and gripping at it in anger, "I don't know what he's thinking anymore! He won't go home, he attacks our shinobi, he kills my parents... I'm a splitting image of my mother, you know? He can't have been blind, he had to have..." She felt hot tears running down her face, clenching her eyes shut. She shouldn't have said anything. She should have sent him away. She shouldn't have taken the drink. What if it was poison? What if-

Her mental ranting was cut off by her candles being blown out, pitching her into complete darkness. Her shadow moved off the windowsill and slipped into her room. Her mind swapped to panic mode in her distress, feeling around for a kunai, "What are you doing?"

In response to her question he shot forward, wrapping her up in his arms. She sat shocked at this, her hand pausing over the kunai she'd finally located. He took the opportunity to pull her hand in away from the weapon, the hand then cradling the back of her head and pulling her to his chest. She didn't know whether to fight him or not. His embrace was so warm, but her instincts as a shinobi were screaming dully in the back of her mind that this was a bad position to be in.

The shinobi part of her was silenced when he spoke up close to her ear, his voice soft but also choked with emotion, as if he was as upset, as devastated as she was, "I'm sorry Sakura... I'm so so sorry..."

She was at a loss at his tone, though it seemed to set off a reaction in her, tears pouring down her face. Her parents' faces appeared in her mind and for once she was glad Tsunade and Shizune had not let her see her parents when they came in. She wanted to remember them just that way.

His voice broke her from her thoughts, whispering to her, "If you must cry, cry Sakura. This isn't a mission." She felt him open his cloak and pull her inside of it, closing it around her so even the moonlight outside was snuffed out, "See? No one can see you now? You can feel whatever you want to feel and no one will know about it."

Caving under the warmth and security of his embrace she gave a soft, choked sob. That was all it took to open the floodgate and she buried her face against his shirt, letting out the pain she'd been holding in. Her fingers latched onto his shirt and she sobbed hard, letting herself feel the bitterness and sadness at once and letting it consume her.

His arms kept tight around her, one of his hands stroking her hair soothingly. He said nothing to her. What was there to say? He knew the sort of pain she was feeling, even if the circumstances were a bit different. He knew the only good medicine for this was to let yourself feel it.

It was a bit later that her sobs finally died down, her body more relaxed and slumped against his. He looked down at her and was surprised to see her asleep against him, having worn herself out. He let a small smile touch his face, though under the circumstances it wasn't too happy of a smile. He pulled her from his body and laid her back on her bed, pulling her covers over her body. He hesitated, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he was gone.

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Sakura woke up feeling conflicted. On one hand, she felt well-rested, having a hard time admitting that his arms had been a nice place to fall asleep. On the other hand, there was the aftermath and realization that her parents were indeed dead. It wasn't a dream.

She couldn't break down again, though. She knew that. Not now. There were things to take care of.

The next week was a blur as the village prepared for a memorial service for her parents and the other shinobi that had died in that mission. She threw herself into preparations, partially to distract herself and partially because it _was_ her parents and she wanted to make sure things went over well. She didn't see her friend most days, assuming he was giving her space to do what she needed. As lonely as it was, she was also thankful for his foresight on the matter. She wasn't ready to face him again yet after that night.

It wasn't until the night before the funeral that she heard from him. Not in person though, but in a note. The note was rather short, her voice soft as she read aloud, "Dear Sakura... I'm sorry about the lack of correspondence as of late. I thought you could use the space. I will be at the funeral tomorrow to give my respect to your late parents..." She blinked a moment, "Wait, what?" He was going to be _at_ the funeral? How was he going to pull that off? Likely a transformation jutsu, but still.. that was insanely risky. Most people knew who was close to her and who wasn't. It would look fishy.

Still... it would be nice to have his support. She sighed lightly. She'd become far too dependent on him. She didn't get long to think about that though as she was pulled away for more preparations, her mind drifting to other things.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The funeral wasn't too big, but it was still very beautiful. Sakura was proud of herself for being able to keep her tears at bay for most of the funeral. The only time her emotions broke rank was when she went to lay flowers at the memorial. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek, wiping it away as she went back to sit with the rest of the guests.

After the ceremony she was bombarded by hugs by many of her colleagues and friends. Ino's and Naruto's hugs were especially strong. It made her feel a warmth in her to know that despite how bad of a friend she'd been lately to them that they still cared.

Naruto stayed with her as everyone loitered around, passing around condolences to those left behind. They leaned against a pair of trees, saying nothing for a moment. Naruto seemed to be trying to think of something hard, his face rather serious. He sighed after a moment, "Sakura, about Sasuke..."

Sakura shook her head, "I'm... not really ready to try to come to terms with that, Naruto."

He nodded a bit, "I know. Me neither, to be honest. I just wanted to let you know that we can take our time with that and I'll support whatever you want to do about him when the time comes."

She looked a bit surprised at that bit of maturity but smiled slightly, "Thank you Naruto. I really appreciate it." She noticed his eyes kept moving to a certain point in the trees, frowning and seeing nothing there but finding his behavior odd, "What are you doing?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "It's just... I kind of need to take a piss, so.." He slipped off into the trees behind her. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, blushing in embarrassment and anger, "Seriously, Naruto? There are a dozen buildings the other direction with bathrooms and you're going to go in the woods? And near me, no less? Sheesh!"

After a moment, Naruto came back, Sakura crossing her arms, "Seriously, that's such a disrespectful thing to do at a funeral Naruto, even if the ceremony is over!"

Naruto tipped his head, "What is it I did exactly?"

Sakura almost felt a vein pop, "What, you ask? You.. just..." She ran out of steam as she realized there was something off about his appearance. She frowned a bit before her eyes widened a little.

Naruto smiled serenely, "See? I knew someone this good with genjutsu would catch on."

She gaped at him, then frowned, "What did you do with Naruto?"

He shrugged, "He said he's going back to his apartment for a ramen binge." He gave a knowing grin toward her, "You thought I attacked him?"

She blushed as he hit the nail on the head, though she was embarrassed to have had to little faith in him, "N-No, of course not."

His eyes showed that he didn't believe her for a second. He pulled out a flower and looked to her, "So, show me to the monument?"

She nodded a bit and took him by the hand, leading him to the monument. There weren't a lot of people there now, most having gone back home. She spoke softly so only he'd hear her, "So, Naruto actually agreed to this?"

He laid the flower down at the monument and bowed his head in respect, his voice just as soft, which was strange coming from Naruto's body, "I talked with him about it last night. He seemed... hesitant at first. He knows you've been confiding in someone lately though that you haven't told anyone about and guessed it was me. He said as long as I continued to support you he didn't see a problem." He chuckled a bit, "Then he made no small threat toward my genitalia if I so much as harm a hair on your head."

Sakura looked a bit surprised and touched that Naruto was so accepting. As comfortable as her relationship with her friend had gotten, she couldn't help but remember that he _did_ seem to be a criminal of some sort and that any sane person would have turned him in by now. If she told anyone else, she was sure they'd be mad at her recklessness. Leave it to Naruto to support her as long as what she did was making her happy. At the crack about his threat she laughed a bit, "Oh, that sounds like him."

He stood back up straight and faced her, "So would it be odd for Naruto to hug you right now?"

She sobered up a bit, though a small smile still remained on her face, "Not at all. Everyone hugs at funerals."

He smiled a bit himself and hugged her close to him, murmuring softly in a voice less like Naruto's and more like his own, "I'm sorry again, Sakura. I wish I could have met them."

She returned the embrace and closed her eyes, whispering softly, "Me too. Even if you're a secretive little bastard, I'm sure they would have liked you."

He laughed at that, pulling his arms from around her before the embrace turned from a normal hug to looking very strange to the other residents, "No one wants their daughter with a criminal."

She sighed, the humor gone, "I'm not so sure about that. That's not your only defining feature."

He was quiet for a moment then murmured, "Thank you... for saying as much."

She blinked then gave a slight chuckle, "You act like you're not used to getting complimented."

"It's more like I haven't been in a long time."

She tried to understand what he meant but let it go for the time being, "You should probably go. I'm not the only one good at genjutsu around here." At his scrutinizing look, she waved his concern off a bit, "I'm fine, really. I'm going to a small girl thing with Ino and Hinata in a moment anyway."

He seemed satisfied with that response and nodded, "Alright. You take care, Sakura."

She smiled as he dashed off into the village as if toward Naruto's place, though she had a feeling he'd find a way to bail before that. She sighed after a moment, owing Naruto big time. She headed toward Ichiraku, knowing the girls would probably be starving.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Under the music corner, we have Before My Body is Dry from the Kill la Kill soundtrack. I listened to an extended edit with the rapper parts removed.

Weeks passed since the funeral. Sakura spent the better portion of her days training for the jounin exams. At first it was mostly a distraction from her loss, but as time went on she genuinely got back her enthusiasm for proving herself. Sometimes her shadow would come and spot her training, giving pointers here and there, though he refused to outright spar with her. The daylight hours would be spent training, her evening hours taken up by long conversations with her friend.

That was how her mind saw him now, ever since the funeral. Regardless of his past or his decision to alter her memory, he truly only seemed to be after her well-being, something that was difficult for her to admit to herself but she admitted all the same. He was her friend, no matter how you sliced it.

Still, he was always careful never to reveal his identity to her. A part of her resented his lack of trust, but from what she heard about the first time she'd found out his identity, maybe it was for the best. The only thing is that the thought that his identity had sent such an angry reaction through her worried her. Should she truly accept his friendship? A part of her also considered that maybe with how close they were now maybe it wouldn't matter to her anymore. Not that she could guarantee that.

The night before the jounin exams found her and her shadow sitting in her room, back-to-back, snacking and talking about stupid little things. She found that he seemed to be more trusting about being close to her without her peeking and while it was tempting to take advantage of that trust, she found she couldn't.

She popped another chip in her mouth, chuckling, "So let me get this straight... a hawk made off with the cat's body while you guys were trying to bury it?"

He laughed a bit himself, nodding and eating a chip himself, "It was a big hawk. It took off right over the tree line back for the village. Me and my best friend panicked and tried to knock the hawk down with a shuriken. We succeeded, but as luck would have it, the hawk landed right in the cat's owner's backyard."

Sakura laughed and elbowed his side a bit, "Oh man, that's terrible. Did you guys get caught?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "No, not by her, anyway. She raised a huge stink about that cat of hers being 'murdered' and threw a fit but never realized it was me and my friend. My father figured it out, though, and man was he angry."

She grinned and leaned back harder on him, "Hey, you killed a cat, you sort of deserved it."

His voice got slightly more defensive, though he still couldn't help but laugh, "Hey, you didn't know that cat like we did. It was pure evil. This fat, angry ball of white and orange that always seemed in the right place at the right time to claw your ankle or bite you somewhere. I'm surprised someone didn't take him out on purpose."

She shook her head, "And you guys 'accidentally' hit a cat during shuriken practice?"

"It was! Pure and honest accident. Doesn't mean I couldn't be happy about it though."

She laughed loudly and poked his side, "Alright alright, I'll let you off the hook this time."

They let their laughter die down and enjoyed a moment of companionable silence before Sakura murmured, "I'm kind of nervous."

He smiled and leaned back harder on her for a moment, making her buckle a bit more than he had due to his height and weight, "Don't get meek on me. After all the training we did? You're more than prepared."

"You think?" she muttered, eating another chip. She sighed and whispered, "I wish mom and dad could see this." She laughed a bit, "Then again, if I slip up and make a fool of myself maybe I'll be glad they won't- OW!" She yelped and held her arm, where he'd just pinched her rather harder, "The hell was that for?"

He sounded a bit more serious, "You won't slip up. And they _are_ watching, in a way."

She sighed and nodded, "I suppose you're right."

They were quiet again for a bit, listening to the bustle dying down outside as the night gave way to late night and many of the night owls even went to bed. After a moment, Sakura's hand sought his out, lacing their fingers together, "So... you know, I don't exactly have a name to call you. It's kind of a pain." He could hear a slight grin in her voice, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me who you are yet?"

He sighed and tried to pull his hand from hers. This was how it was the last few weeks whenever they were together. He didn't mind proximity to her, but the moment she tried to pry about his identity in any way, he would leave. Granted, the times before that they would outright argue, leading to him instead leaving each time to prevent a fight.

Regardless, this time she didn't want it to be that way. Her hand held onto his tighter, refusing to let him just leave, "Please. I know I got upset last time but you have to admit we've gotten closer since then, right? You don't know that I'll still be upset."

"Sakura..."

"No, come on. Why can't you trust me?"

His voice filled with exasperation, "Sakura, I do trust you, but-"

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"I trust you with everything but this."

She felt stung, leaning away from him and letting his hand go. If he wanted to leave, fine. She knew why he couldn't trust her deep down, but it still hurt that as open as they'd been with somethings, that this was the wall between them.

She felt his arms wrap around her from behind, his head resting beside hers. His breath tickled her neck as he spoke, sending shivers up her spine, "I'm sorry Sakura... I just can't bring myself to take the risk and potentially lose you..."

She let her eyes drift shut, leaning backward into his chest, "I'm right here. You won't lose me."

She felt him shift a bit behind her so even her head was leaning back against his chest, knowing at this point that he was towering over her but refusing to open her eyes, as if to prove to him that he could trust her. She felt a jolt of surprise when his lips pressed to her softly, tentatively. As if giving her the option to pull away. One of her hands came up, following the contours of their faces until she was caressing his cheek, leaning up a bit to meet his kiss. He answered in kind, his fingers threading into her hair as he kissed her more passionately this time, his tongue persistently begging for entrance against her lips until it was granted, her lips parting as she surrendered to him. She honestly couldn't remember the last time someone kissed her like this. Never, perhaps. Regardless, by the time their lips parted she was left breathless, having to work to keep her head straight and remember not to open her eyes.

She was turned onto her back and she felt his weight looming over her, hovering but hesitant. Her eyes fluttered but she kept them firmly shut, afraid that he would vanish. Her worries were met with him leaning down and instead kissing her again, her response almost instant this time as they kissed each other senseless. His hands were on her then, touching along her arms, her sides, her hips... sometimes his hands would brush over more sensitive parts like her chest or her thighs. Either way, his touch sent shivers of excitement through her but also a bit of sorrow. Beneath the touch that was obviously meant to please her, she felt something else. As if he was committing her to memory. One only really did that when they expected to lose what they had.

As quickly as the passion had built between them, he was just as quick to stop, pulling away to sit up. She could hear the barest panting from him, having gotten as worked up as she had. Which only lead to confusion as to why he stopped.

He took her hand and pulled her to sit up, pulling her up and into his arms. She let her head rest against his chest as his fingers ran softly through her hair, his voice rather throaty after all that, "I want you for myself Sakura, truly... but this isn't something for you to do with someone you don't even know."

She bristled a bit in frustration and started to argue, "That's why I ask-"

His free hand covered her mouth gently and he murmured close to her ear, "...Think of this as an incentive, Sakura." He let go of her mouth, his arms wrapping around her again, "If you pass the jounin exams tomorrow and become a jounin, I'll tell you who I am."

She jolted in surprise and went to look up at him out of instinct, one of his hands covering her eyes until he felt them close, "Really? You're not lying, right?"

He smiled softly, though there was a definite sadness to the smile, "I'm not lying. I promise you that I'll keep my word. Pass and tomorrow night we'll have a party to celebrate and I'll tell you then who I am."

She smiled and hugged him tightly, "Thank you..." She grinned a little, "I promise I'll try not to kill you."

She heard him chuckle, the sound coming out as a rumble in his chest against her ear, "I would hope you wouldn't kill me." He laid her back and kissed her forehead, "I'll be there watching. Get some rest for now."

She huffed and wanted to argue but knew she'd need sleep for the exams the next day. She simply nodded, curling up into her covers. He was gone before she could realize it, chuckling then looking at her bed. She curled up closer into her covers and started to drift off, muttering, "Jerk stole my chips..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura stood panting, wiping the blood and sweat from her forehead before it could get to her eyes. Her opponent was crafty, she'd give him that. She supposed he'd have to be, what with this being the semi-final match. They truly did love bringing these down to a tournament, she noticed. She eyed her opponent carefully but in actuality, she was scanning her peripheral constantly, trying to keep tabs on her actual opponent. His genjutsu was very good, but she was used to genjutsu. Every so often she would notice a ripple in her vision from her opponent's actual body moving. To her extreme displeasure, though, it was hard to keep tabs on him when he was still unless she was actively seeking him. And she didn't want to give away just yet that she knew where he was and that her 'opponent' was an illusion. There was a chance he already knew, but the longer she played stupid, the better.

She watched the doppelganger make a sharp dash for her, punching aside his sword against the flat of it so it was knocked off course and sailed past her. She followed it up with a punch but the illusion jumped back before she could strike it. She snarled and darted to the side of it, pivoting to suddenly dash at her opponent and aim another punch for him, only for him to back up. This went on for several minutes. She'd try to take him from another angle, but he'd just keep dodging, never seeming to tire. Meanwhile, she was sweating bullets, running out of stamina as the fight went on.

Finally, after a couple minutes of this, she lunged at her opponent and once again missed... only for her punch to hit the real shinobi, catching him off guard as his doppelganger moving out of the way basically gave her a free shot at the mastermind behind it. The shinobi flew like a ragdoll and hit the ground with a sickening crunch as his leg broke under his weight. The power of that punch to the head was insane, he could barely make sense of up or down, much less land in a way that wouldn't get him hurt. He tried to get up, only to have his broken leg give out under him. She chuckled a bit. It had been a lot of work to get them to line up just right and keep an eye on his real body, but she'd finally got the shot she needed.

As she thought that, she heard the earth scrape and rumble behind her. As she turned to see what it was, something connected with the side of her head with bewildering force, her body resembling her opponent's as she was thrown and landed on the ground, unable to get up. She clung to consciousness but she'd worn her body out hard with all the movement she'd done trying to trap her opponent.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Sakura regained consciousness she was off to the side of the arena. From the sounds of the shouts, the final match had finished. She groaned but a hand touched her shoulder, keeping her laying down, "Don't get up just yet." She sighed, "So I guess I lost, huh?"

Shikamaru, sitting on the bench beside where she was laying, nodded, "Yeah. Really tough blow to the head. Earth jutsu."

Sakura groaned and sat up anyway despite his protest before, "I thought I got his real body."

Shikamaru nodded in understanding, "You did well in figuring out where he was. His genjutsu shields him best when he doesn't move, so I'm sure it took a bit to get that whole thing set up. Too bad that wasn't his real body."

Sakura shook her head then decided that'd been a very bad idea, grabbing her forehead lightly, "Seriously?"

He patted her back a bit, "Yeah. His real body was stationary from the get-go. He knew his weakness as far as moving was concerned, so his trick is to use two clones. One cloaked and one not. The cloaked one makes sure to move every once in a while and stay away from his real body while the second tires his opponent out."

Sakura chuckled a bit, "Clever. Hate that I got my ass beat, but clever."

Shikamaru smirked a bit, "Ass beat or not, you got what you came for." At her confused look he pulled an envelop from his vest, handing it to her, "You made it to jounin." He looked out at the arena, "There would have been a ceremony of sorts for it, but there's been a bit of an incident."

Sakura could barely hear him, nearly jumping up and down. She'd passed... she'd passed! She grinned wide, though the grin lessened somewhat as she processed his words, "Incident?"

Shikamaru laughed a bit, "Yeah, you know how these exams go.. there's always something. Don't worry about it too much, we'll call for you when things settle down. You should head home and rest."

Sakura looked concerned but nodded, hoping that the final match hadn't resorted in some sort of death. Death was always a possible outcome in the exams but it was always unfortunate when it happened.

She nearly skipped home, happy as she could possibly be. Wait until he heard this! Not only that, he'd promise her his identity. She could only hope that he didn't back out.

She went back to her apartment and relaxed, eating some ramen and treating her injuries. She waited about an hour before her patience started the wear thin. He said he was going to be at the exams, didn't he? Surely he saw they were over and would come see her? Then again, it was only sunset, not nearly dark enough for him to come. But he'd come a few times before around this time and just hid in her room.

She nearly fell out of her bed when there was a loud banging on her door. She dashed over and opened it to find Naruto panting as if he'd run a mile at a sprint, "Sakura, where have you been?"

She frowned a bit, "Shikamaru told me to come home and get some rest, so..."

Naruto nearly flailed his arms around in frustration, "This isn't the time for rest! Didn't you hear what happened at the jounin exams? I mean, you were there!"

Sakura felt a bit of unease, "What do you mean? What happened?"

Naruto looked at her seriously, "They caught Uchiha Itachi."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I was listening to when I was writing this was Clubbed to Death from the Matrix soundtrack.

Pain. The smell of blood. He was used to these things. So why was he so bothered this time? He supposed it was because of her. He'd gotten so used to how they were. Opened up to her more than he'd opened up to anyone else. He'd gotten used to shirking his duties to be by her side. Sometimes he indulged himself and even imagined simply dropping who he was to be by her forever.

But he should have known better. A part of him did but couldn't bear to break his own fantasies. The truth is that he was who he was and no matter what he did to try to run from his past, it was what people saw him for. He would never be Itachi the man, he would always be Uchiha Itachi, the traitor and slayer of his own clan. There was no such thing as a normal life for him, by the side of someone he loved.

Pain registered in his mind again, but he didn't much react other than a slight grunt. He'd give Ibiki one thing: the man was persistent. He supposed that's why he was in the position he was in. He idly wondered if things would have been different if he'd noticed Kurenai's eyes on him sooner. No, he'd been a fool and too wrapped up in Sakura's fight to notice that the woman had appeared late. Pregnant or not, she was still a shinobi and a genjutsu expert at that. It wasn't exactly immediate that she saw through his genjutsu, but his negligence had given her time to analyze it.

Eventually the pain came to a halt and he heard the interrogator's voice again, gruff as he was asked things like how he was still alive or why he had infiltrated Konoha. He supposed he could have told the truth, but it was silly, even to his ears. Being outside of the situation, there's no way anyone could possibly understand how the situation between him and Sakura evolved.

For the first time since the previous night, Itachi spoke, his voice level despite the injures he'd been receiving, "Haruno Sakura." The others all looked at each other in question then at him, Ibiki looking down at the younger man, "What about her?"

Itachi looked up at Ibiki, his eyes blanked by the contacts over them but still managing to give a piercing gaze regardless, "I want to speak to Haruno Sakura."

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Naruto woke up slowly, his brow furrowing as he tried to process where he was. He remembered now that he'd fallen asleep at Sakura's apartment, stretching a bit and shaking off his sleep. He had fallen asleep sitting on the floor with his back to the bed, not wanting to leave Sakura alone.

He looked over his shoulder to find her on her side facing him, her eyes bloodshot from what he assumed was lack of sleep. He cursed himself for not making sure she'd fallen asleep before passing out himself.

Unlike Sakura, he'd known who her visitor was, ever since the funeral. Why he'd confided in him and not Sakura he'd never know. Regardless, he'd been sworn not to tell Sakura and kept to his word. Regardless of what happened between Itachi and Konoha, or Itachi and Sasuke, Itachi didn't seem to be the evil guy everyone thought he was. Naruto couldn't quite put it in to words and hated trying to figure out complicated things anyway, but the way he saw it, Itachi was bringing life back into Sakura when everyone else had written her off as a workaholic lost cause. Someone who made his ex-teammate more like her old self was at the very least not terrible for her.

He didn't quite know if she knew he was Itachi yet, but he felt that she needed to know he was caught. From the moments that followed, he assumed she didn't. She just stared at him. Her face crunched up in a frown as her brain tried to process why he would tell her. Then there was the dawning look of horror as she put the pieces together. Then anger. Sadness. More anger. Naruto had shifted restlessly in place but knew better than to interrupt a woman when she was like that. He had to fight the urge to run and avoid what looked to be a rather complicated female matter but to his merit stayed put for his friend.

She'd invited him in at that point, walking almost like a zombie to her kitchen and pulling out some sake. Naruto wasn't too sure if that was a good idea but her glare silenced him. He gave in at that point, figuring that anything that made her feel better in the moment was better than her going into hysterics.

By the time midnight rolled around, the room was cluttered with empty ramen cups and they were too sauced to care much about anything. They hadn't said a single word to each other but Naruto's presence was a comfort to her, no words really needed.

Around two in the morning, the sake and the stress finally got to Naruto and his head lolled back against her bed as he passed out.

Sakura, however, had been unable to sleep. She'd shifted restlessly, sometimes facing her window and looking out toward the building she knew they'd be keeping prisoners in. Sometimes she'd face inward toward her room, not wanting to think about it.

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts but the main though that rampaged through her head was how she didn't see this. Especially when he had erased her memory of seeing him. That required a powerful genjutsu. Something that only a sharingan could really provide. She'd simply believed too heavily in the news that they'd gotten that Sasuke had killed his brother. It clouded her mind to the possibility that the rumor was false.

Knowing that much, it wasn't too hard to break the memory erase he'd done on her to remember that time. She felt a pain in her chest when she realized he was right. She'd snapped hard when she'd found out. But a self-righteous part of her mind also told herself that she was right as well. That they'd grown much closer over the following month and that, now, it didn't matter so much to her. Regardless of who he was or what he did, he was her friend. The person who had sparked life in her again when she'd felt like there was no longer a reason.

She gazed silently at Naruto when he woke up and met her eyes, seeing the accusation in them when he saw how little sleep she got but not looking ashamed. His anger ebbed quickly anyway with understanding as to why.

After a moment, Sakura spoke hoarsely, "You knew?" The sentence hung in the space between question and statement, Naruto merely nodding his head in response. She figured she should be angry, Naruto figured she should be angry, but she couldn't find the energy to do so. She owed Naruto a lot for keeping the secret anyway. At that thought, her face creased in a frown, "How...? How did he get caught?"

Naruto looked away and shrugged, "Kurenai. She saw through his genjutsu. He didn't put up much of a fight from what I hear and surrendered."

Sakura's head jerked up at that last statement, her eyes angry, "What? Why?"

Naruto shrugged helplessly, wishing he'd been privy to more information on the matter, "Dunno. Maybe it was so a fight didn't break out."

She sighed and sat up, pushing away the litter around her bed in disgust. She'd really let herself go last night.

A knock rang out from her door, Naruto getting up before she could to open it. Neji looked a bit surprised to see Naruto open the door instead of Sakura but a flickering glance into the room showed that she was obviously upset about something. A frown came to his face, wondering what exactly was going on between Itachi and Sakura.

"Umm... Neji?" Naruto snapped him out of his thoughts, looking a bit irritated at Neji's silence. Neji sighed and pushed the door open a bit more despite a squawk of protest from Naruto, addressing Sakura directly, "You're needed at the Intelligence Division building."

Sakura slipped out of bed, frowning, "Why?" She had a dawning feeling but still wanted to hear the reason from him directly.

Neji raked a hand through his hair in frustration, "Uchiha Itachi keeps asking for you. By name. Regardless of interrogation methods, it's all that he's been saying for the last three hours."

Sakura felt a lump settle solidly in her throat, swallowing several times to try to push it down. He was asking for her. She should go to him. Except her feet felt like lead, her body refusing to move.

Neji raised an eyebrow, "If you're afraid we can refuse. He _is_ a known criminal. We're not sure why he wants to speak to you, but-"

"I'll go."

He gave her a scrutinizing look but nodded, turning and walking away. Naruto looked to Sakura with concern, "Are you sure you should be doing this?" He knew Itachi wouldn't hurt her at this point, but it was her mental and emotional state he was worried about now.

Sakura nodded numbly, straightening herself out before walking past him, "Yeah... I'll be fine. I have some questions for him anyway."

Naruto watched her walk in the direction Neji disappeared in, sighing lightly before going through the process of cleaning up their mess in her apartment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura was led through the halls by Neji, neither talking as they made their way to the interrogation cell. She had thought they'd go to one of the talking rooms but apparently they felt Itachi too dangerous to move from his cell and were going to bring her there instead. It gave her a sense of unease. She'd only been to the cells a few times when there was a prisoner Ibiki had been too tough with. Prisoners that they needed to stay alive and she had to heal to keep from dying. It was never a pleasant experience.

She was led to his cell door and let inside, Neji locking it from the outside. Despite being alone with Itachi she could feel several pairs of eyes watching them, using cameras and jutsu to examine them both.

She knew what she was in for when she heard he was in one of the bottom cells, but it still didn't keep her stomach from twisting when she saw the state he was in. He'd been stripped of his Akatsuki uniform, left in dirty and tattered cloths that barely covered more than a hospital gown. His hair was out of the usual ponytail and hung limply around his head, caked with dirt and blood. In fact, the same could be said for the rest of his body as well. It was obvious that Ibiki had held nothing back on him. She was frozen on the spot, taking in his state but unable to move, both from the shock of it and the shock of seeing him up close now. She'd seen a genjutsu form of Itachi before with Naruto, she'd had him in her room within the shadows of night, but now he was actually in front of her as himself. No, not himself. He had more dignity than this. This was just...

"Sakura."

She jolted a bit at his voice, her body feeling like it began to thaw as movement was granted again. She made it to him in a few strides, making a chakra scalpel and cutting the chains that were holding his arms above his head, nearly suspending him from the ceiling. She felt several chakra signals flare a bit nervously but didn't care. His arms looked ready to pop out of their sockets and she wasn't having that.

She knelt on the floor in front of Itachi, her hands flaring to life with green chakra as she started to heal some of his wounds. He looked up at her from under his bangs, "Sakura. You're going to get in trouble."

She felt relief at hearing his voice. The same voice she was used to. It was so clear now that it was him that it was scary. She shook her head at his protest, "They'll just have to deal with it. After all, I'm the only one you'll talk to, right?"

He gave a slight grin and huffed lightly, "I suppose you are right. Still, they are listening and watching."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Of course they are. I didn't think they'd let me talk to you alone. Besides, if you were afraid that they'd think of me as some kind of accomplice of yours, why bother asking for me and getting me mixed up in it to begin with?"

He had no retort for that, giving a short, punctuated laugh at her statement. Of course she was right about that. He sighed, "I guess I asked for you to apologize."

Her hands tensed over him and she let them fall to her lap, the majority of his major wounds healed up, "Apologize?"

He sighed, rubbing the skin under his shackled lightly. He sat back against the back wall of the cell, putting some distance between them and ignoring the slight hurt he saw in Sakura's face, "Yes. For everything. For using you."

Sakura's face tensed at his words. Use? What was he talking about?

He continued on, his voice dark and husky, "I see you're surprised. Surely you didn't think I was being nice to you for your benefit." He looked up at her, his eyes cold and impassive, "You were the easiest target. Someone I could use to get me within Konoha to further Akatsuki's goals."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, pain evident in her eyes. This wasn't happening. He had to be lying to her.

He continued on as if her pain didn't matter, "You were in so much pain over my brother. Doubting yourself and your place in life and this village."

 _No..._ She took a step back, horror in her eyes.

"You just wanted someone, anyone, to believe in you."

_No no no..._

"It was ridiculous, how easy it was to get into your heart. Get you to trust me. You had no idea that I would be using you to dismantle the village from the inside. The best friend of Uzumaki Naruto."

_No!_

"It's amazing what a few sweet words will do to soften the heart of a weak, pitiful woman."

"NO!" She stepped back further from him, tears streaming down her face. Her hands clutched at the sides of her head as she shook it violently, trying to dispel his words from her mind. She lunged at him and punched him in the jaw, a sickening crack sounding out as it broke under the force. Still, his eyes held no pain. They were cold and emotionless as they looked up at her. She couldn't stand it. She fled the cell, running through the halls for the exit as she felt bile rising up. She barely made it outside before she curled over the grass and vomited heavily, her body shaking.

Neji went to pursue her but stopped when Ibiki's hand came down on his shoulder, "Don't. Let her be. There's no point in questioning her now after that. Let her be."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinata decided that whatever higher power was watching her got bored and wanted to watch her squirm. There was the Uchiha Itachi debacle and the fact that she had to hold back a pregnant Kurenai from trying to engage him in battle herself. Then the fact that Neji and several of her family members, herself included, were tasked with escorting him to the Intelligence Division, a place she hated more than anything. Then having to help Tenten to stop a riot started by a chunin that was particularly angry that he'd failed to become a jounin for the ninth time running. Then paperwork. Lots of paperwork on both issues. She got to bed rather late and then had Naruto knocking down her door in the wee hours of the morning to get help sorting out Sakura's apartment.

Naruto explained things in detail to her, which took a while and was hard on her sleep deprived brain. Still, it was terrible to hear what Sakura was having to deal with right then. Despite what they knew about Itachi, he was obviously someone who had a positive impact on Sakura as of late. Her new, happier attitude hadn't been lost on Ino or herself, but it was still bizarre to hear the reason behind it.

She eventually got to head home, lay in her futon, and maybe get some sleep again when Sakura was knocking down her door this time. She couldn't bring herself to be angry though, especially when she saw just how pale and shaken Sakura was.

Sakura hadn't told her about what happened, only asked for a bath, which Hinata provided.

Devoid of good sleep and a bit grouchy, Hinata sat in the living room drinking some tea and letting Sakura have some private time to herself. She looked up when she heard Neji come home, nodding to him respectfully. He returned the gesture, peeling off his vest and other extra pieces of his uniform, "What a day..."

Hinata nodded in agreement. It wasn't even all that late in the day and already it was tiring. She sipped her tea again, murmuring, "Uchiha duty?"

Neji nodded and sat across from her, helping himself to some tea, "Yeah. Sakura came and saw him today."

Hinata almost dropped her teacup, "What?" She supposed she knew why Sakura had come to her looking so dead.

Neji took a sip of his tea and muttered, "He said some rather cruel things to her. She then proceeded to vomit in the grass outside then went into such a rage that she knocked down a sizable part of the building. It took six men to hold her down and stop her rampage. We let her go when she stopped struggling so much and told her to go home. Itachi is now less than helpful and refuses to speak to anyone. I'm thinking he'll probably be executed soon if Ibiki can't get anything useful from him."

Hinata sighed, "Sakura's in the bath right now."

Neji nearly spit out his drink, "She's what?"

Hinata shook her head at the apprehensive look on his face, "I don't think she'll knock our house down, Neji-nii. She looked like she just didn't want to go home, that's all."

Neji narrowed his eyes and took another drink, composing himself, "I hope not. Friend of yours or not, if she starts destroying the property, I'll have to throw her out." He wondered if he was being too harsh. He would occasionally go on missions with Sakura and others when Ibiki wasn't training him, but still... this destructive Sakura was a bit worrying.

Hinata was in thought for a moment, then murmured softly, "Speaking of throwing people out..." She looked at him nervously, not really sure how to tell her still-slightly-intimidating cousin how to get the hell out of the house for a while.

Neji eyed her suspicously a moment, "...You're inviting Yamanaka over, aren't you?" At her nod he sighed and stood up, taking another sip of his tea before heading for the door and putting his shoes on, "Don't worry about it. I think someone needs to drag Nara out drinking anyway." Hinata smiled at him thankfully but he was already gone. She got up and padded over to the phone, dialing Ino's number, her eyes moving toward where Sakura was bathing, hoping that this wouldn't be out of line.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura stared at the ceiling for a long time as she soaked in the bath. Hinata had to have one of the most wonderful and sinful baths in existence. It was one of the nice perks of having a friend from a rich clan. So it would have been infuriating that she couldn't seem to feel good even then if she'd had the capacity to feel that way. As it stood, she felt numbed. Devoid. She just couldn't wrap her head around recent events.

He'd felt so sincere with her. So open. Had that been an act? Just a way for him to have an easy way in to Naruto? She felt used and dirty. Embarrassed that she'd been so desperate for someone to acknowledge her that she'd just let him get under her skin like that.

Her first feelings were correct. He was a criminal. Someone who shouldn't have been there. She should have attacked him, called the guards, something. Anything but allowing that farce to carry on unhindered.

The water was rather cold by the time it occurred to her that she should get out. Thinking the same thoughts over and over wasn't helping her. She dried off and get in some spare clothes Hinata put out for her, walking out to the living room only to halt when she saw the pairs of eyes looking back at her. Hinata, Ino, Naruto, and Kakashi.

Ino saw Sakura scanning for a quick exit and made an impatient noise in her throat, coming forward and grabbing her by the wrist, "Come on forehead, sit down." She pulled Sakura to sit at the table with them despite the other girl's obvious discomfort, sitting back down in her spot.

No one really knew what to say to her. Everyone had been informed of the situation, but what did you say to something like that?

Kakashi was the first to speak, "Sakura... do you want to talk?"

Sakura stiffened in her seat and shook her head slowly. They all looked at each other briefly and then Sakura again, Naruto speaking up this time, "Look, Sakura..."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!"

Hinata and Ino, seated on each side of her, grabbed her shoulders and held her down firmly when it looked like she was about to get up, Hinata's voice trying to be soothing, "No one is trying to pity you. We just want to help."

Sakura growled and shook off their hands but didn't get up, "Look, this is embarrassing enough as it is that I fell for his crap. I don't need a group meeting about this to make me feel worse."

They were all quiet for a moment before Kakashi spoke hesitantly, "Are you sure he was being honest with you..?"

Sakura snapped at him, "Of course he wasn't being honest, he admitted that himself!"

Naruto shook his head, "We mean in the cell. I mean... I only met him that one time since he was meeting with you. But think about it. If he was after me, why didn't he get me then? I was alone in the wood with him. It would have been easy."

Sakura shook her head angrily, "It wasn't time? Who knows... who knows what the hell he was thinking..."

Ino squeezed her hand gently, "Look, none of us know anything about this, really. Just the little bits Hinata knew. To be honest, we're all kind of confused on how this came about."

Hinata nodded a bit, "Please, share with us. Let us know."

Sakura gritted her teeth to keep from snapping at them. It wasn't their business in the slightest. Then again, a part of her reasoned that maybe if she'd confided her worries to them instead of a stranger and a criminal, then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation.

She sighed and looked down at the table, trying to process her thoughts before starting, "It started about two months ago..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were all quiet for a while after she was finished, each in their own little process of thought. Ino was the first to speak, her voice soft, "I see... I guess I can see how close you guys got..."

Sakura shook her head, close to tears after explaining it all, "But that's the thing, isn't it...? I never really got close to him. Rather, he never let me know anything about him... I should have seen... should have known..."

From the corner of the room, a new voice spoke up, "So you're saying you know nothing about Uchiha Itachi, right?"

Sakura looked up in surprise, "Shizune..." She frowned, "Yes. Thank you for repeating that painful point, by the way."

Shizune ignored the last statement and walked closer into the room, a thick folder in her arm. She dropped it in front of Sakura, "Well, maybe this will help." At their questioning glances she sighed, "Look, I'm going to get in trouble if it's found out I took these files. Not even by Tsunade but by the elders. If anyone finds out you got these, I'm not being held responsible."

Ino looked at her, a bit annoyed, "Then why bother? We didn't ask for these. Especially if it's something that could get us in trouble."

Shizune looked at her, a bit frustrated, "Because I care about Sakura. And I don't want her making any hasty decisions. These documents are of a very sensitive nature though, so please be careful about how you use them. And read them all. It's _all_ relevant, even if it doesn't seem like it at first."

Seeing Shizune walking out, Hinata spoke up, "You're not staying?"

Shizune shook her head, "I'm not staying anywhere nearer to those papers than necessary. I already read it all anyway."

They watched her walk out and then looked at the immense folder on the table, all wanting to reach forward and read it but wondering if they should be the one to read it or not. Eventually Sakura's hands reached out shakily and took the folder, pulling it to herself and opening it. At the questioning eyes aimed at her she pulled out the first report, reading aloud, "Regarding the Uchiha and the Senju..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about where the last chapter left off. Things generally get worse before they get better. Song this round was I Want to Know from the Kill la Kill soundtrack. Kind of a short chapter.

Hinata, Naruto, and Kakashi sat around Hinata's table, staring at each other without a word. What could one say after the things they read. The Uchiha and the Senju... the formation of the village and the tension between Hashirama and Madara... the truth behind the Uchiha massacre... There were so many things swimming through their minds.

Kakashi was the first to speak up, his single exposed eye downcast, "I guess we can safely assume now why Shizune didn't want to be caught with these." He lifted the folder for a brief moment before letting it drop to the table again.

Hinata swallowed a bit and nodded, feeling more tired than ever under the stress, "This is a lot to take in... I can't belie-"

Naruto's fist came down hard on the table, making both Hinata and Kakashi jump a bit, "I can't believe the elders were lying all this time about this!"

Hinata put a hand on his shoulder, grimacing at the loud noise, "N-Naruto... please..."

The three seemed to give a sigh in unison before the room fell into silence. Naruto was the first to break it, of course, getting uncomfortable, "I wonder where Sakura and Ino went."

Kakashi stood up slowly, tucking the folder of documents into his vest, "I'd leave them alone. They both seemed rather determined." To be perfectly honest, he planned to check on that development himself, but he knew there was a low chance of Naruto being covert about it and Hinata looked ready to collapse on the spot from exhaustion.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was three days since that night. Itachi had been less than cooperative and a little over twenty-four hours after Sakura last spoke to Itachi, his execution was announced.

Sakura had been restless since that night. Truthfully, she didn't know what to think of him. Lies. Lies on both sides and it was so hard to distrust both sides when she wanted to trust them so badly.

Her village was her village. She didn't want to believe they'd lied about so many key points. She'd been living for her village, the same as he had. She wanted to have unerring faith in them.

But, she didn't want to distrust him either. He'd lied to her just as badly, if not worse. He'd erased memories, even. She couldn't shake what Naruto had said the other night specifically, though. That he had every opportunity to get Naruto and yet never did. There had to be a reason.

Regardless, by the time the third day rolled around, she had a determined expression on her face. Despite everything, he deserved to have someone there. He needed her there at the end. That's what she told herself.

She looked at her watch and saw that it would be happening soon, heading out to the execution grounds. Things were about to get a lot more stressful.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Itachi was chained in his cell like usual, awaiting his fate. It was strange. He'd always thought this moment would bring him some sort of peace. Granted, he'd really wanted Sasuke to be the one to kill him, but that plan had backfired horribly. In making his brother the avenger of their clan, he'd set him on a path to become quite cold and bloodthirsty. In truth, had he given the situation more thought back then, he might have parted with different words to his little brother. Words to encourage him, not isolate him. Words that would serve Sasuke's best interests, rather than selfish words spoken out of a desperate need to atone for his sins.

Thus why he couldn't let Sasuke kill him in the end. He wanted it and his body had screamed with all its might to just let it go, to let it end. But, he couldn't just leave Sasuke like that. He couldn't let him get his revenge in his current state. He'd never go back.

Itachi had been right, too. Sasuke didn't return, even after he thought himself the victor. Itachi had started dropping breadcrumbs in the hopes that Sasuke wouldn't do something stupid like kill himself when it was over. He also hoped that, in light of his failures, maybe he'd turn to his friends for aid this time. It was a sad, pathetic hope, but it was one of the few things he had left.

In light of his realization that he didn't want Sasuke to kill him as he was, he would think that dying as a martyr for the sake of the village would work out, too. Strangely, it didn't help. He felt regret and resentment. He couldn't help but wish and hope for things far outside his reach. Things he didn't deserve but desired with all his might. He closed his eyes tightly to try to block out the images, but they sprung up worse than ever in the darkness of his eyelids. Brilliant green eyes and a soft smile. Her face in rest, eyelashes pressed to her cheeks and lips slightly parted as she dreamed. Her body arced gracefully as her fist connected with her opponent. He felt irritation in his eyes, insisting to his brain that it was merely the rather rough contacts they used to suppress his sharingan.

He didn't have to mind it much longer. Soon it would all end and he'd be devoid of sensation. His touch, his taste, his smell... smell?

His eyes opened slowly, not having paid enough attention to realize there was a different smell in his cell. It was extremely faint but he couldn't help but look behind him. His eyes traveled up to the tiny, barred window at the very top of the wall. He was barely able to see over the windowsill, finding a small potted plant up there, small white and pink blossoms sprouting among its leaves.

He sat there for a few minutes simply staring at the plant, as if his next blink would cause it to vanish. He finally turned his head away after a moment, his voice barely a whisper, "Fool..." After everything he said to her, she'd still...

He heard footsteps approaching, cutting off his thoughts. It was time, it seemed. He didn't know how to feel about the flowers. On one hand, they gave him a sort of peace. As if she'd found a silent way to show him some sort of forgiveness. On the other hand, his chest ached for her even more strongly, making him that much more regretful that his next step outside would be his last.

He followed after Ibiki, flanked by several shinobi on all sides as he was brought to the execution platform. His eyes were barely open, lightly running over the people who had showed up for his execution. A lot more than he'd expected. He almost wanted to laugh at the hatred shown there. Of course they should hate him. It was just surprising that so many would come. His eyes were only scanning for one person, though.

He thought maybe she hadn't come, until his eyes caught the light reflecting in a pair of emerald eyes, his breath halting in his chest. The two stared at one another for a good while, ignorant to the world even as Ibiki started reading off his charges for everyone to hear.

He once again found himself in that frustrating place where he simply didn't know what he wanted. In a weird rush of irrational thought, he couldn't help but wonder if he should call out to her. To tell her he was truly sorry, to say he loved her. He realized, though, that such a thing might only make it more difficult for her to let go. It was the reason he'd been so cold to her in the first place. The reason he wanted her to believe he used her. He wanted, now more than ever, for her to hate him to her very core. Because as selfish as he was, as much as he desired her love, he couldn't bear the thought of causing her that pain.

His shoulder was grabbed suddenly and he was pushed roughly to his knees, realizing with a sudden jolt that the time had come. Obsidian eyes narrowed coldly toward green ones in an attempt to ward her off one last time, but the response he got was her eyes narrowing in kind, not in hate but determination.

Then suddenly, chaos. There was an explosion from the nearby walls, a blade of lightning piercing through and slicing the thick stone like nothing. His eyes caught sight of two men and a woman... and between them...

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice rang above everyone else's panicked shouts, but Sasuke didn't bother to look in his direction. All of his attention, all of his hate and malice, was directed at the man about to be executed. Killed, by someone's hands that weren't his. No, Itachi was _his!_ _He_ was the one that was supposed to take his brother's life.

Many shinobi tried to take down Sasuke but his partners seemed more than capable, keeping the shinobi at bay as Sasuke made his way through the crowd toward Itachi.

No... this wasn't the way Itachi wanted it. He wanted his brother to be a hero of the village, not to be the same kind of villain he had been. He gritted his teeth, unable to go anywhere under the bindings holding him, Ibiki's strong grip still keeping him in place.

At least, it had been. He had to release Itachi when he realized that not a whole lot stood between him and Sasuke at this point. Granted, letting Sasuke kill a condemned man wouldn't be too bad, but Sasuke himself was a criminal and he wasn't about to condone vigilante behavior, not even from someone as young as Sasuke.

The bigger one of Sasuke's partners, the one with orange hair, got into the fray, too. Things got hairy after that, Ibiki finding himself pushed back, much to his surprise. Before he could raise his chakra and get serious the one with sharp teeth was upon him, too. Was that sword Hoshigaki Kisame's?

In the time Ibiki was distracted, Sasuke took that time to break off, heading for Itachi with his sword raised, lightning crackling around the blade. Their eyes locked, one set full of sadness and the other full of hatred. Time seemed to slow for Itachi. He could see the shinobi spread about, not dead but unable to fight. Ibiki was still being pinned down by two of Sasuke's partners. He could see the Hyuuga that was always with Ibiki jumping into the fight to help. In another direction, he could see the hokage and her aid trying to approach to control the situation. They were very late, however, and too far to make a difference at this stage.

In his last moments, his eyes scanned desperately. Just once more... once more, he wanted to see her.. to see those eyes... just once, he prayed...

He got his wish. And, in that endless moment, he found himself praying in his head, screaming that he didn't mean it. That he didn't want to see her.

Because in a thousand years, never would he have asked to see her one last time if it meant like this. If it meant her body hunched over his, her green eyes open in shock and pain as they gazed down at him. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and from her chest, the lightning blade piercing her so that he could see the tip exiting where her heart should be.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was going to be the final chapter originally, but after so many revisions and just how long it was turning out, this will go on for a bit longer.
> 
> As per usual, music corner. I was listening to the nKz remix of Till I Die from the Kill la Kill soundtrack, the instrumental version. Though honestly, any version of Till I Die works here.

"Itachi isn't here."

Suigetsu felt himself grow a bit nervous at the glare aimed his way, obsidian eyes flashing red as his anger spiked. The water nin held up his hands in a placating gesture, though he couldn't help but grin, "Now now, don't shoot the messenger. That's just what I heard. Apparently during his execution two weeks ago, someone showed up to ruin the party. Killed some kunoichi, hauled her body into the forest, and Itachi broke his bonds in a rage to go at him. Last anyone heard, the attacker killed Itachi and made a hasty retreat."

Karin rolled her eyes and gave Suigetsu a look that showed she didn't quite believe him, but she'd already learned a few times during their journey that when a conversation about Sasuke's brother was taking place, you didn't mention him unless he was expressly questioning you on it. She didn't think Sasuke would take kindly to her praising Itachi by mentioning that some two-bit shinobi couldn't possibly just stroll into Konohagakure, murder _the_ Uchiha Itachi, and get away with it. Even if Sasuke himself had the same thoughts.

If it weren't for the fact that Sasuke knew of Suigetsu's superior spying abilities, Suigetsu would be in deep shit for this sort of pathetic joke. It didn't help that Suigetsu seemed to be highly amused about something. It was only rubbing Sasuke the wrong way further and Juugo couldn't help but shake his head at the possibly ass kicking headed Suigetsu's way.

Sasuke sighed and decided to humor Suigetsu, "Who else was killed?" From the sound of it, it was possible that the kunoichi in question was the reason for his brother's anger. He couldn't imagine what kunoichi he'd be involved with at all from Konohagakure, much less that would illicit such a reaction. He couldn't deny that this particular bit of information interested him.

Suigetsu's grin faded somewhat, as if he'd been hoping to get asked a different question, shrugging, "Hmm... I think they said Haruno Sakura." Karin stiffened a bit where she was leaning and watched with a small bit of jealousy as Sasuke's chakra swirled and jerked in an agitated manner. Of course, to Suigetsu and Juugo, Sasuke looked perfectly calm on the outside, but Karin could see the inner frustration Sasuke was faced with. Regardless of his claims to no longer care for his teammates, she could tell that this information wasn't something he enjoyed hearing. She didn't like any other woman having a place in Sasuke's mind or heart but her, but she couldn't help but grieve slightly in her heart for the woman as well. Her mind went back to the moments around when Sasuke fought Danzo, when he stabbed Karin and nearly killed Sakura and her both. She never wanted to sympathize with Sakura on any level, but the two had such a similar anguished heart at that time that it was painful.

Sasuke remained looking impassive. Perhaps he would grieve her someday when he had the luxury or desire, but now wasn't the time. He kept his gaze even as he continued to question Suigetsu, "And the attacker?"

Suigetsu once again had that broad grin, like Christmas came early. He waited a moment, as if savoring the anticipation, before stating, "You're going to love this. The person who broke in, killed Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi, then made a break for it... was Uchiha Sasuke."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shizune's eyes drifted to the window briefly, squinting against the sunset to check the perimeter before heading to Tsunade's office. She just couldn't help but be paranoid lately, especially with the newest report clasped in her hand. Things were just crazy lately.

She entered the office, bowing her head briefly in greeting as Kakashi passed her on his way out. She noted a folder on Tsunade's desk and grimaced, having some idea of why Kakashi had been in there. Tsunade didn't look angry though. No, the past couple of weeks, Tsunade had looked ragged and stressed. Today especially so. Shizune wondered briefly if she already knew the contents of the report she was delivering. It was possible, Tsunade _was_ the Hokage, after all.

Shizune sat across from Tsunade at her desk and dropped the report next to the folder, "Here's the report on the Uchiha Sasuke sighting yesterday." Tsunade only nodded, one of her hands holding her forehead as the other slid the report to the side. She'd get to it eventually. Tsunade eventually broke the silence by laying a hand on the blue folder at the top of her papers, "I guess it's safe to assume that you're the one that got these?"

Looking apprehensive, Shizune nodded a bit. It wasn't like lying would do well at this stage, "I thought Sakura deserved to know." At the mention of her former apprentice's name, Tsunade tensed a bit, her gaze shifting to the side. Shizune wanted to kick herself. It was never good to mention that name in front of Tsunade anymore.

Tsunade sighed, seeing Shizune's expression, and forced down her own reaction, standing up out of her chair and gazing out her office window, "It's fine. I... I can understand a bit why you did it." She smiled very slightly, "Though to be honest, I've known for a bit now. Kakashi didn't just drop these off, I've had them. He was just checking to make sure I was okay." Her tone of voice tried to blow it off, like it was ridiculous that anyone should think she was anything but okay.

Shizune knew better.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Tsunade's response was to hit her fist a bit against her window, a motion that wasn't very forceful but still sent a crack running up the glass and caused Shizune to jump a bit in her seat. Tsunade pushed the anger down, though her voice was still tense, "Of course I miss her, Shizune. There's nothing I can do now. As much as I wish it, she's not coming back." She closed her eyes, feeling her age for the first time in a long while, "Though.. I suppose I shouldn't be so angry _at_ her. It's a testament to how much you really care for a person... when you're willing to sacrifice everything for them."

Shizune got out of her chair and stood beside Tsunade, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I miss her, too." Tsunade didn't say anything else, her head slumping down to rest on Shizune's.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Today had been a rather eventful day. Being a field trip day, they had come back to the school rather late. So late that the sun was dipping below the horizon before all the kids were picked up. One last girl was left by the end, watched carefully by her teacher as she played in the school yard. The teacher smiled gently as the girl started picking flowers and pretending to talk to someone, off in her own little world.

The girl's gaze suddenly turned to her teacher and she nearly skipped over, handing one of the flowers to her, "Here Ms. Amagi. I picked this one for you!"

Her teacher smiled fondly and took the flower from her, a small pink thing that really was from a weed rather than being an actual flower, but it was sweet all the same. Eventually the girl's father came to get her, the teacher waving happily at her before heading home, twirling the flower in her fingers.

She took off her shoes as she came in the door of her house, stretching as she entered the kitchen and put the flower in a short vase that seemed to be full of the same sort of flower, all in varying degrees of wilting. She added a little more water, knowing it wouldn't help for long but wanting to be nice to them regardless. Especially with the array of real, strong flowers spread about her house.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and smiled gently, not bothering to look behind her, "I guess you got off of work early?" She felt a kiss on the top of her head and a deep voice behind her murmur, "Hmm. A little. I think you're just late, Ms. Amagi." There was a pause and then his voice sounded amused, "Another flower from Cynthia?"

She turned in his arms to face him and chuckled, "Yes, she was the last to leave." She frowned as she noticed a cut on his cheek, reaching up to touch it lightly, "I thought you guys were sticking to the eastern forests today."

His face remained passive but there was a slight sheepishness to his eyes, "Yes, well... It seems the boars have been hunted rather heavily there the last week, so we really had no choice but to drift a bit north. We still tried to avoid tiger territory, but one decided our hunt was his hunt."

She charged chakra in her fingertips, tracing the cut softly and watching as the skin closed up without a scar. She reached up and gripped a bit of his bangs between her fingers, tugging playfully, "You should take a shower and clean all that up. I'll make dinner."

He took her by her wrist gently to stop her from moving to the fridge, "Actually, I was hoping maybe we could go somewhere tonight. After I clean up, of course."

She looked taken aback but nodded, smiling widely at him, "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Sakuma?"

His response was to close the distance between them, stepping forward and pulling on her wrist lightly to pull her right up to his chest. Her grin faded a bit, her expression taking on something between surprise and embarrassment. He almost wanted to grin himself at how quickly he could fluster her. He pulled her wrist up gently toward his face, laying a light kiss on her palm before leaning down and whispering warmly in her ear, "Maybe I am... Sakura."

She wondered idly if it was possibly for her to blush so deeply that she'd just spontaneously combust. It was utterly, completely, and 100% unfair what he could do to her sometimes. The fact that he used her real name, something they couldn't do often as of late, didn't help matters.

He decided to be merciful and pulled back from her personal space, his fingers brushing her cheek gently before letting his hand fall back to his side. She let her gaze drift to the side, huffing childishly, "That was mean, Itachi."

"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere enough, though she could tell from his expression that he wasn't much sorry at all, enjoying her reactions.

He stepped in closer again but this time handed her a scroll, his expression gentle but no longer playful, "I ended up getting this today for you." She took the scroll from him gingerly, watching as he left wordlessly to take his shower. She wondered what was wrong before she saw the name just inside the start of the scroll: Yamanaka. He must have been giving her privacy, she realized and found herself immensely thankful for it.

She moved to the kitchen table and sat down, her hands shaking as she unrolled a rather long scroll, starting to read.

_Dear Forehead,_

_How are you adjusting to life in the boonies? Okay, maybe not the boonies, but man, could you have picked a further location? I know you're trying to lay low, but how am_ **I** _supposed to visit you if you're that far away?_

_Things have been crazy since you left. Most of the village thinks you and Itachi are dead. A lot of people were mourning you for the last two weeks._

_Tsunade-sama is rather torn up about you leaving. She understands why you left, but I don't think she's quite as understanding as we are about you being together with a criminal. Still, we know the truth about him and she'll get over it, you'll see._

_The elders aren't going to pursue this issue. Tsunade-sama left them with some not-too-subtle threats about leaking the story of the Uchiha massacre and the events leading up to it if they even tried to send anyone after you two._

_I'm glad we let Tsunade-sama in on it at the last minute. She's pretending to take over our punishment for the sake of not letting the elders do it._

_Still, it was crazy you and Kurenai were able to cooperate on a genjutsu of that scale with such a short amount of prep time. She gave me the specifics of it after the fact. I guess that forehead is good for retaining information after all._

_Funny story though. It seems the real Sasuke has been snooping around lately. There have been a lot of sightings of him. No, he's not dead yet. I think he was looking for Itachi. Not sure how much he'll buy into the story of Itachi having been killed by himself, but I doubt he'll think to look for you guys so far out of the country._

_Hinata and Naruto keep asking about you and miss you like crazy. Tsunade-sama and Kakashi, too. I guess I kinda miss you, too._

_I know it was tough to leave the village. And, I know some people within our circle may not entirely embrace your decisions. All of us are behind you though and wish for your happiness. And for heaven's sake, get married already! The academy could use some cute brats with big foreheads._

_Don't worry if you can't write back, better safe than sorry. Still, it will be nice to hear from you if we can._

_Much love,_

_Ino_

Next to Ino's name, she could see other signatures with short little messages.

_Come back someday so we can have some ramen again!_

_-Naruto_

_We miss you a lot. Neji-niisan misses missions with you, too. Though don't tell him I said that. He's pretending to be mad at you._

_-Hinata_

_I'll make sure the ANBU stay off your trail. Be safe and be happy. You'll always be my precious student._

_-Kakashi_

_With you gone, Tsunade is going to be ten times harder on me, you know? But, if you're happy it's okay. Stay strong._

_-Shizune_

Her grip on the scroll tightened a bit, tears running freely down her face. Kiba... Lee... Shikamaru... Chouji... It seemed Ino couldn't bring herself to lie to them either, their own signatures on the scroll as well. Tucked in the corner, at the end of the signatures, was the Hokage's seal. She knew Tsunade was probably the angriest one at her, but to see even a little support from her made her choke back a sob, touched.

She jumped a little when she felt a pair of hands lay softly on her shoulders. She looked up to find Itachi looking down at her with an unreadable expression. He finally leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Do you want to save dinner for another night?"

She stood up out of her chair and shook her head, wiping her tears quickly, "N-No. No, I'm fine. I just..." She shrugged, not really knowing how to finish that thought. She instead handed him the scroll, letting him read it as well. She watched and sat down with him as he read, turning her chair to face him. Once he was done he rolled the scroll back up and handed it to her, a light smile on his face, "You have some good friends, Sakura." She could only nod silently, a dull ache in her chest at the thought of the friends she'd left behind.

Itachi knelt down in front of her chair and reached out, caressing her cheek gently with a concerned look, "Sakura... are you sure this is what you want?" She frowned at the question, "Of course it is!" Her hand came up to flick him lightly on the forehead, a shaky smile on her face. He normally might have returned the smile but instead his hand came up to take hers that had flicked him, his fingers interweaving with hers, "I'm serious, Sakura." "I am too, Itachi," she retorted.

The two stared at each other stubbornly until Sakura sighed and shook her head, "Look, some things you want because you want them, nothing more. You want them, but if you have to give them up, you'll live, even if it hurts at first. But, there are some things you _need_. Some things that you feel like you might possibly die without." She squeezed lightly on his hand, "My friends will always be there for me. You read the scroll. But, if I hadn't done what I did, you would have died. And, as much as I want my friends, I _need_ you. If you had died that day, I... I can't say my will to continue on in a world where you didn't exist would have been high."

She went to gaze up at him only to find her vision obscured by his chest, his hand pulling from hers so both of his arms could wrap around her tightly. She let her eyes drift closed and leaned into his embrace, her arms snaking around his torso and keeping him close to her.

He rested his forehead against the top of her head, his own eyes closing as he spoke, "When I killed my clan, but left Sasuke alive, I left him with harsh parting words. I made him believe I killed them for sport. Made myself out as a bored genius who wanted to test his limits. I fueled his hatred in the hopes that he would be my executioner and punish me at last for my crimes. And, as I continued to live, my crimes kept piling up. I found reason after reason to simply wait for death.

So, I can't entirely empathize with a person who had so many reasons to live and found her one reason to die. But, on the other side of the coin, among all my reasons to die, you were the one thing I found that made me feel like life was worth trying to live again."

He felt her start to sob against his chest and kept holding her gently, his fingers running through her hair as he tried to comfort her. He hadn't meant to make her cry, but he could understand the reason why. It was something he wanted her to hear, though. He had cut off his emotions for so long for his mission that trying to express them made him feel awkward and self-conscious about if they'd even come across right anymore, but he _had_ to make her understand this feeling. This strong feeling that had made her so important to him that he'd practically begged for death in his head when he thought she was killed.

She eventually stopped crying long enough to look up at him. He wasn't sure what to do, reaching out tentatively to touch her cheek, only to have her nearly lunge at him at the touch. Her lips locked with his and he couldn't help but return it. She felt happy and sad and touched all at once, each emotion surging and growing until it just didn't feel like she had enough room in her heart for all of them at once. Regardless of what she had before, she had him now, and she'd be damned if she let him go after everything.

She remembered at some point that she needed air and reluctantly broke the kiss, both of them panting and keeping a firm hold on one another. Eventually, an amused smile appeared on his face and he murmured quietly, "Dinner?"

She looked up at him, prompted by his question, about ready to give him an earful for bringing it up. Then again, she supposed they _did_ need to eat. The sight of him made her pause though, his hair slightly disheveled and his eyes practically screaming of suppressed need. Trying very desperately to be a gentleman.

Damn. Damn damn damn.

Her response to his question was to take his face between her hands and kiss him like she'd never kissed anyone before, prompting Itachi to pick her up bridal style and bring her to the bedroom. It looked like dinner was canceled after all, but hell if he was going to complain.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Many months passed. Some more eventful than others. Sakura had taken to her new life as a school teacher fairly well, though she couldn't help but feel like she missed her shinobi lifestyle to a degree. Itachi had taken to helping with hunting with several of the men from the village. They never gave away their identities as shinobi, but his prowess was still easily identifiable and the men found him to be a huge asset.

Eventually Sakura got news from Ino about an Allied Shinobi Force. Apparently the war with the Akatsuki had escalated out of control and the five major nations were getting involved. It took a lot of control on her part to not go charging in. Itachi wanted to get involved to an extent as well, but Sakura received many letters from Konohagakure warning them _not_ to get involved.

When they received word though of the situation with Sasuke, they couldn't stay out of it any longer. Sasuke had gone from wanting to kill Itachi to wanting to destroy Konohagakure _for_ Itachi. Then he changed his mind again and was claiming to want to be Hokage, fighting alongside Naruto against Madara. Neither of them knew what Sasuke was thinking, but things were getting out of control and it looked like their biggest concern, Sasuke's hatred of Itachi, was less of an issue now. Furthermore, Itachi seemed to want to go after Madara on a more personal level. Finally, Hashirama seemed to have informed a good deal of the shinobi there of much of his past leading up to the war. It was a huge step toward clearing Itachi's name.

The fight was brutal. When they got there, Sakura more than had her work cut out for her. The sheer number of injured was astronomical and climbing.

Still, everything was almost worth it for seeing Naruto and Sasuke again, to stand beside them in the heat of battle. Team Seven, united again if only for a moment. It also felt good to have Sasuke on the side of good again. There was a lot he had to answer for, but she was still glad. It wasn't like before now. She knew she'd always love Sasuke, but now it felt almost sibling-like. He was special, but she didn't want to be _with_ him, just near him and Naruto. Her partners.

Things kept escalating, but she couldn't help but feel glad to see her teammates together again. It seemed like with whatever power Sasuke and Naruto were wielding, anything was possible for them.

And then things went straight to shit.

Sakura wasn't sure what happened. Obito had _just_ been warning her against exactly what was happening. Madara emerged from the Kamui dimension with two Renningan and a sick feeling twisted in her gut. She could only hope Obito had been exaggerating the danger, but deep down she knew he wasn't. Madara not only seemed to have an invisible wall around him, but managed to cast the Mugen Tsukuyomi. Sakura forced her eyes away from the moon as if it would blind her, though being under its light was enough. Her concern wasn't trying to avoid the jutsu, though. Her eyes sought out her teammates, who had been spread out in the scuffle before. She was rather far off from everyone, able to watch as Sasuke activated his Susanoo and made a quick shot for Naruto. Her eyes moved to Itachi, who was activating his Susanoo and making a dash for her. She moved to meet him halfway but her body felt remarkably sluggish. _No... the genjutsu..!_ She tried to push her legs with all her might to move, but the last thing she saw before her world went white was Itachi's panicked face as he reached out with both his physical and Susanoo hand to try to grab her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Forehead, where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Sakura had been making a bit of a jog across the village before Ino's voice halted her. She huffed at the nickname but smiled and turned to face her best friend, "The Uchiha District, where else?"

Ino chuckled a bit. Of _course_ Sakura was headed there. She grinned a bit, "What, I thought Naruto said you guys were all training today."

Sakura laughed and shook her head, a sheepish look on her face, "Eh, you know how it is. Sometimes it's downright impossible to keep up with those two. Best to let them have their fun."

Ino rolled her eyes, "Mind asking them to pass some of that enthusiasm along to my team? I swear, those two could use even a tenth of that sort of work ethic."

Both Sakura and Ino looked at each other and used their best Shikamaru voices, "Too troublesome..." They ended up in a fit of laughter at that, able to imagine those exact words in response to any sort of training.

After a moment, Sakura's face took on a bit of nervousness, "To be honest, I'm not training with them today because I have dinner plans."

Ino let out a bit of a gasp, as if remembering something she shouldn't have forgotten, "Oh man, is tonight the parent-boyfriend dinner?" She was answered with a small nod.

Sakura leaned against the bridge's railing, Ino joining her. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed before murmuring, "Dad still isn't too keen on me dating a guy with five years over me. Mom, of course, is still thrilled to bits over it, especially me dating the 'Uchiha genius' and all that. I'm just hoping that Dad doesn't try to do something horrible to Itachi. You know, like murder him."

Ino chuckled sheepishly, "Aww, come on, I don't think your dad would resort to that." Sakura shook her head, "No, I guess not." Neither girl sounded convinced.

Sakura watched as her best friend pushed off the railing to stand in front of her, "Well the way I see it, you turned 17 this year. That makes you an adult by the village's standards. You should be able to choose whoever you want."

Sakura rolled her eyes and pushed off the railing as well, "Yeah, okay, you try telling my dad that. See what happens." Both girls chuckled a bit at that thought. Not a good idea.

Eventually Sakura sighed and shook her head, "Well, time to face the music." Ino grinned and patted her on the back, "Good luck! I'm off to try to see if I can motivate my teammates into doing something productive."

Sakura laughed and made her way into the Uchiha District, murmuring to herself, "Yeah, she'll need more luck than me." She smiled cheerfully and waved as she was greeted along the roads toward Itachi's house. With the district basically being full of related branches of the same family, everyone was always so familiar with her. Like a village full of aunts and uncles. It was overwhelming at first, but once you got used to it, it was nice.

Sakura came up to Itachi's house and knocked, blinking when Sasuke was the one to answer, "Oh, um, hi." Sasuke got a sort of look on his face like he was remembering something painful, guessing her confusion and deciding to elaborate, "Naruto is in the hospital absorbing the lesson about what sorts of idiot jutsus he should and shouldn't perform in front of the Hokage."

Sakura grimaced, only able to imagine what sort of jutsu he did that would have made Tsunade land him in a hospital bed. Oh well, it wasn't like he didn't heal up fast.

She noticed him looking at her expectantly and blushed in embarrassment at just standing there like an idiot, "Oh right, um, I was supposed to pick up Itach-"

"Is that Sakura-chan? Have her come in!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura as if saying 'well, you heard the woman', earning a laugh from Sakura as she stepped inside, taking off her shoes before making her way to the voice that had come from the kitchen. She found their mother moving around the kitchen as she cooked dinner for Sasuke and his father. Said father was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper and sipping what she guessed what sake. Sasuke disappeared into one of the back rooms after letting her in, leaving her with his parents.

Itachi's mother, Mikoto, was someone that Sakura liked very much. She was very gentle, but still firm enough to have dealt with _two_ boys. She was always willing to lend an ear, though she had a habit of trying to spoil Sakura a bit more than her comfort zone would allow.

His father, Fugaku, was different. At first, honestly, she'd been afraid of him. He was very stern and didn't talk much. He just had one of those faces that looked to be in a permanent scowl and for a long while she thought he didn't like her.

She learned later that it was the complete opposite. He just was never good at being too emotional with people. In fact, in contrast to her own father, Itachi's father approved of their relationship rather quickly, to her surprise. He had a more old-fashioned mindset, remembering when some girls would marry off as early as 13. It made sense, considering the projected lifespan of a shinobi. Her father was a bit of a younger parent and had more of the mindset that girls nowadays should be waiting until they are at least into their 20s before they consider marrying someone or being with someone seriously. Fugaku's approval, at least, had been a huge burden off her shoulders.

Mikoto smiled at Sakura when she noticed her and came over with a small covered dish, "Here, I wanted to give this to you before you left, sweetheart. I know you were asking about my tiramisu for your mother before, so I thought it might make a nice gift for your dinner tonight." She winked a bit, "Maybe it will soften up your father, huh?"

Sakura took the dessert with a blush, though her embarrassment tripled at Mikoto's mention of her father. She had to suppress a groan. Did her father just up and yell his disapproval to everyone in earshot or something?

Mikoto seemed to understand her distress and chuckled, patting the younger girl on the shoulder, "I just assumed. You _are_ your father's daughter, after all. Most fathers get that sort of complex with their daughter." She laughed a bit, "Part of why I'm glad we got boys." She could hear Fugaku give some sort of grunt of approval at her statement, in full agreement.

Sakura smiled at that. She supposed the older woman had a point. She looked around before looking at Mikoto, "So where is Itachi?"

"Itachi just left."

Three pairs of eyes swiveled to where Sasuke had just come in the door, leaning against the door frame with a somewhat bored look on his face, "He said to meet him at the place you guys first met." His eyes locked on Sakura as he addressed her with that statement. Her brows furrowed a bit before she shrugged, "Well, this is odd, but I guess if that's what he wants." She bid her farewells to them all before heading out.

 _The first place we met, huh?_ She supposed that was the academy, when he dropped Sasuke off for his first day. Oddly, despite knowing this information, her feet carried her past the academy and toward home. She frowned but supposed she _should_ give the dessert to her mother before she did any sort of detours.

She came in the door and grinned at how her house pretty much mirrored Itachi's from a moment ago. Her mother was cooking while her father sat at the kitchen table. Though, instead of reading, he was... Well, if she were to use any word, she supposed 'sulking' was the appropriate word. He was sulking. Obviously he was still unhappy with the night's plans.

Sakura ignored her father's 'hmph' at her entering the kitchen, bringing the dessert to her mother, "Here mom, Mikoto made a tiramisu for us for tonight." Her mother practically beamed and took the dish, "Oh, that was so sweet of her! Tell her thank you next time you see her!"

Sakura smiled, "No problem. I still need to get Itachi though, he seems to be playing hide-and-seek with me."

Her mother laughed, ignoring a grumbling from her father about how rude it was to keep people waiting, and Sakura made her way out of the kitchen...

...and up to her room.

She wasn't sure why her feet led her there. She was supposed to meet him at the academy. So why?

She sat on her bed, deep in thought. She didn't notice the shadow outside her window, silhouetted against the setting sun, until he spoke softly, "Good evening, Sakura."

She nearly jumped, looking toward the window. She couldn't see his face, but she knew that voice anywhere, "Itachi?" She laughed a bit, "What are you doing outside my window?" Moreover, why did it feel so... nostalgic?

He chuckled a little, "Old habits die hard."

She found that statement a bit odd. She was sure that Itachi didn't make a habit of lurking outside her window. Her confusion only seemed to stem more chuckles from him. He shifted a bit as he stood up and jumped into her window. She frowned at his attire. She had no clue what he had on under it, but his body was consumed by a black cloak with white and red clouds littering the expanse of it. She tipped her head, "What's going on? It's not _bad_ looking, but I thought you'd be a bit more normally dressed for dinner-"

"Sakura."

She finally realized the difference in voice. She supposed it was him calling her by her name. Not Sakura-san as he did when they were first getting along. Not Sakura-chan, as he called her now. Just Sakura. And, with a voice that seemed much heavier than his current voice. Older, perhaps? His eyes were sharper as well. It was.. well... it was as if someone not only aged Itachi, but put the burdens of the world on his shoulders until it hardened him.

She wasn't sure what was going on, but it scared her a little. He seemed to notice the effect he was having on her, his eyes softening slightly, "I'm sorry, It's just that there's not a lot of time for this."

She relaxed only slightly at his words, watching him warily, "What do you mean?"

He sighed and stepped closer, ignoring her attempts to step back and put distance between them as his hands gripped her shoulders and he knelt so their eyes were level. She gasped a bit at the eyes that looked at her. Blood-red orbs marred with deep black. A sharingan she'd never seen. Something fierce and violent but also possessive and worried. He murmured gently to her, "None of this is real. You need to come back with me now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm HORRIBLE with fighting scenes especially, so I'm sorry if the stuff with Madara was underwhelming. :/ I wanted to get Sakura under the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but hell if I could figure out how to do it without it feeling rushed or being awkward. I think I kind of failed in that, but I guess that's really up to your judgment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music corner this time is Airplanes, the cover version done by Travis Garland.

Sakura sat in front of the vanity in Hinata's room, adjusting her sleeves nervously as she waited for Ino to get back with whatever monstrosity her best friend had decided on for her garter. Honestly, she didn't see why she had to wear one, but Ino insisted that Itachi would need to throw it much like she would be throwing her bouquet. It would be funny, she said. She supposed that might be true, but the idea of Itachi lifting up her dress in front of the bulk of their wedding guests to retrieve the item made her blush.

"I suppose the term 'blushing bride' isn't too far off."

She turned to make a wry comment about it being bad luck to see the bride before their wedding, but the motion went stiff halfway through as the voice actually registered. This wasn't her Itachi. By the time her eyes locked on the cloaked form, her eyes were narrowed and her expression was full of distrust.

Itachi didn't seem phased by this. The picture of perfect composure. In reality, it felt like something was stuck in his throat. She was absolutely breathtaking. Marriage wasn't something he'd really considered as a shinobi, but seeing her like this right now made him seriously rethink that life choice. Realizing he was staring, he murmured smoothly, "You look beautiful, Sakura."

Sakura was brought up short by the unexpected compliment, giving him a suspicious look as she spoke slowly, "Thank you, I suppose..." She sighed, deciding to address the elephant in the room, "Wherever it is you came to take me, I'm not going. If you don't leave, I'll scream and at least a dozen shinobi-"

He sighed lightly, holding up a hand to cut off her tirade, "I won't take you if you don't want me to. I just... wanted to see you before the big day, that's all."

Brought up short once again, she could only blink at him owlishly, "Oh." The surprise gave way to an awkward silence and she shifted in her seat, looking aside. She'd seen him quite a few times since that day in her room. Every time she would chase him off with threats. He knew more than he should, but there was nothing saying he wasn't a genjutsu himself. Someone disguised as her Itachi to take her away. He attempted to tell her what he claimed to be things only he would know about her, but none of it rang any bells other than him knowing her history with Ino. He made the excuse afterward that the things he mentioned technically happened in a 'future' compared to her current timeline. It sounded like utter nonsense to her. If he couldn't prove his case, she wasn't about to entertain his stories.

She supposed if he was giving up on the idea of "waking her up" then she wouldn't complain. She just wanted to get married to Itachi and have her happily ever after.

The "Other Itachi" pushed himself from the wall he was leaning against, bowing to her before giving her a soft smile. Well, as soft as she was sure his expressions ever got. He took a step toward her before deciding it was better to keep his distance, "Best wishes, Sakura." He slipped out abruptly after that.

Sakura looked confused but relieved at his sudden departure, though Ino's entry into the room gave away why he'd left in such a hurry. She teased and argued with Ino as her friend attempted to hoist the garter up her leg, though on the inside, she was wondering why the false Itachi's face had looked so sad as he'd left.

The wedding was beautiful. Sakura wore a dress that was simple with little lace, which fit her form and was cut in a way that flattered her figure greatly. It had taken everything Ino could manage to convince her to not keep kunai in her garter. Even with their peaceful life, you couldn't really take the shinobi out of her.

The ceremony was held outside in a large courtyard, their friends and family filling it to the brim. Sakura smiled happily as her father led her down the aisle. She truly felt she didn't appreciate her good fortune enough. She had so many people who cared and who she cared for. She really was blessed.

Itachi's gaze on her as she approached him was some mix of awe and pride at his bride, as well as a deep satisfaction that this beautiful shinobi was about to be his. She was so hypnotized by the look in his eyes that she'd almost not realized when they made it to the altar. Her father gave Itachi a begrudging nod of approval and a slight smile as he placed Sakura's hand in Itachi's.

Sakura looked up at her husband-to-be, trying hard not to lose herself in him and manage to at least somehow pay attention to the words the priest was saying. This... this right here was her Itachi. The warmth in his eyes was very real. He wasn't stained and jaded like the false Itachi who kept coming to take her away. This is where she belonged.

She was pulled from her thoughts when his voice broke through to her, his taking her other hand so both her hands were enveloped in his larger ones, "I, Uchiha Itachi, take you, Haruno Sakura, to be my wife. My partner in life and all things. I swear to protect you and honor you, through our triumphs and failures, through light and darkness, until the end of our days and beyond."

Her eyes softened and burned with unshed tears, smiling up at him as the priest prompted her to repeat the same words. She swallowed back the tears and spoke clearly and proudly, "I, Haruno Sakura, take you, Uchiha Itachi, to be my husband. My partner in life and all things. I swear to protect you and honor you, through our triumphs and failures, through light and d-darkness, until... until the end of our days and b-beyond..." She felt the tears coming back full force and let them run down her face, trying hard not to then laugh as she heard Ino in the crowd make a noise of frustration, no doubt muttering something about the makeup Sakura was ruining.

Itachi squeezed her hands softly in response to her tears, smiling as the priest spoke further. The look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. Love, pride, possessiveness, desire... everything in that gaze for her. Neither seemed to have eyes or ears for anyone else until they heard the words they'd been waiting for.

"You may kiss the bride."

One of Itachi's hands slipped free of hers, reaching up to run his fingertips along her jaw softly toward her chin. His other hand came up to her face as well, cupping the side of her face and wiping away her tears with his thumb. She felt her eyes drift closed at his warm touch and, taking that as his signal, Itachi tipped her face up toward his and descended on her, the kiss not particularly deep but still full of all the love and passion they were feeling. Eventually there was some throat clearing and the two separated, smiling sheepishly as the crowd exploded into cheers.

Itachi's hand enclosed hers again and she looked up at him, squeezing back against his grip. She gave the crowd a happy smile before letting her husband lead her back down the aisle and toward the reception. She missed the figure off in the distance in the darkness of the trees, shedding a single tear of his own before disappearing deeper into the forest.

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Itachi learned many things during his married life. He felt though, that the most important lesson to date, was that an angry, pregnant kunoichi was possibly the most frightening thing in existence.

"DAMN IT NARUTO, STOP TRYING TO MAKE UP WEIRD NAMES FOR MY BABY!"

He watched from his (safe) spot in the living room doorway, ready to duck into the kitchen at a moment's notice, as Naruto jumped from his spot on the couch next to Sakura to sit on the opposing couch next to Sasuke instead. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto, knowing full well that it was the idiot's own fault.

Naruto pouted at Sakura's rejection of what he felt were perfectly normal baby names. Fruit names sounded girly, didn't they? He was named after a food and he turned out great!

Sakura had been trying to get them to talk about the recent situations with the Mist Village that Sasuke and Naruto had been having to deal with, but Naruto seemed to be more interested in coming up with baby names and begging to teach her daughter the wonders of ramen.

Sasuke, of course, knew that Naruto was also trying to cover up the situation in his own weird way. He was an idiot, but he could have insight from time-to-time. They had a lot of history with the Hidden Mist and Naruto had mentioned to Sasuke earlier that Sakura didn't need to be reminded of that mission and given further stress. Especially when it wasn't that big of a deal.

Itachi had to suppress a sigh. The only reason he let this sort of thing continue was because he knew how stubborn his wife was. She was pregnant and out of commission, but that didn't stop her from wanting to be involved. To know what was going on with the village and what kinds of trouble might be brewing at the village's doors.

That and he couldn't imagine it was terribly fun to be at home all day with no one visiting you. He wasn't about to block visitors just because the subject might stress Sakura out.

He came over cautiously and sat in the spot that Naruto had vacated, rubbing Sakura's back soothingly. He braced himself when she tensed, but she relaxed a moment later and accepted the affectionate gesture. She took a deep breath in and out before leveling Naruto with a look, "I'm not naming my daughter Papaya."

"Apricot?"

"No..."

"Kumquat?"

"What the... NO!"

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Itachi was a relatively calm man. He kept his composure through most things and was one of the more mature men his age.

So it would stand to reason that anyone who could see into Itachi's head right then would probably be rather surprised and amused at this thought process, which went as thus: Child birth was terrifying.

Sakura had been rather calm when she'd explained to Itachi that her water broke. She was a doctor, she didn't panic. It lulled him into a false sense of security, that maybe things would go rather smoothly.

He obviously didn't remember Sasuke's birth.

Once Sakura was on the hospital bed and contractions started in earnest, she was raging and yelling. She wanted pain killers and wanted them immediately. She gripped his hand and started yelling in a rage, "This is your fault, Itachi! You... you and your stupid sperm! If I see 'that' again, I'm going to break it, so help me, Itachi!"

Itachi went pale at that threat and Sasuke had to keep from laughing at his brother's discomfort. Naruto and Kiba were there as well as many of their graduating class, though Naruto had been forced to wait in the lobby with the rest after he'd pissed off Sakura enough that the angry, in-labor kunoichi had tried to get off the bed to thrash him. Sasuke, as the only one in the group with a truly calm head and decent medical experience, was allowed to stay and help. He also figured his brother might need some moral support.

The bones in Itachi's hand let out a sickening crack as Sakura's grip tightened ridiculously and Sasuke noted that he supposed it was more than moral support Itachi would need to survive this.

A ridiculous 30 hours in labor later, Sakura was holding their daughter in her arms, sweat caking her face and neck but a satisfied smile on her face at having finally done it. Itachi sat beside her, unable to express anything other than awe at the tiny girl in his wife's arms. Their child. Their daughter.

"Minako." He smiled warmly as he murmured her name, his hand reaching out to gently stroke her head. Minako stirred a bit for a moment before going back to a deep sleep. Sakura smiled affectionately at her and kissed the top of her head. Her eyes moved to Itachi, chuckling at the expression of wonder he held, "Are you okay?"

He shook the fuzziness from his head and gave her a large smile, sitting closer to her and wrapping his arm around her to support her, "Of course. I have the two most perfect girls in the world. I couldn't be happier."

Sakura grinned happily at his words and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I'm glad you're so enthusiastic. You'll need it when she's keeping us up all night, every night."

Itachi's eyes moved to the ceiling as he made a thoughtful expression before smiling, "I think it's worth it."

She chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contently now that things were calm, "I will say this much. Don't expect another one of these, Itachi. As far as childbirth goes, I think once was enough."

Itachi just gave her a silent grin.

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"Mooooooom! Kensuke took my pizza!"

"There's plenty more in the box, honey."

"But I wanted _that_ piece. It had a bunch of pepperoni!"

"Then take the pepperoni off of Kyouya's. He doesn't like pepperoni anyway."

"Kensuke already took Kyouya's!"

"Oh for heaven's sake... Itachi!"

Itachi chuckled at his daughter's pouting face and removed the pepperoni from his own pizza, putting it on a new slice and handing it to her. She gave her father a beaming smile then stuck her tongue out at her brothers before digging into her slice. Kensuke stuck his tongue back out, making a show of eating her old slice because he knew it would still bug her. Kyouya preferred to stay out of it, sitting next to his father and eating quietly.

Sakura considered her three children to be a blessing, but three little shinobi-in-the-making could also be a giant handful.

Their little Minako was ten now and enrolled in the ninja academy. She'd adopted her father's black hair, which she kept in a ponytail much like his, but had her mother's emerald eyes. She was rather serious about her ninja training, but she could sometimes be a bit selfish about small things, like the pizza incident.

Kensuke was the next eldest child, being two years Minako's junior. He adopted his mother's hair and his father's eyes. He was also in the academy, though he had a habit of being about as troublesome as she remembered Naruto being. He was the opposite of Minako and had a habit of taking things anything but seriously. He loved teasing his sister to death and bossing around their youngest son. Still, he had a tendency to at least listen to his parents, especially their father, who he nearly idol worshiped. Despite his habit of goofing off, he wanted to be a great shinobi like his father. Sakura had tried to insist to him that he needed to take his studies more seriously if he wanted to be a fine ninja, but Naruto tended to derail her teachings in that regard by insisting that he was like Kensuke when he was younger and he was the greatest shinobi ever. That never went over well with Sakura.

That left Kyouya as the youngest. His hair was nearly black, but had a pink tint to it that was barely visible except in the right light. He also had his father's eyes. He was three years younger than Kensuke, putting him at five years old. He would be starting in the academy in June, something he was a bit nervous about. He was more shy than his other two siblings. He liked to read and generally relax. Not a lot got him upset other than his siblings getting in arguments. Sakura wondered if he might end up a medic like her. He certainly didn't seem too keen on the fighting aspect of being a ninja.

Once pizza was done with she ushered her children out into the backyard to play. She sank onto the couch next to Itachi with a sigh, rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out at him when she heard him chuckle at her, "Oh shut up." She raked her fingers through her hair and let her head fall back against the back of the couch, "So, how long is the mission going to take this time?"

Itachi shrugged, kissing her cheek before standing up and stretching with his arms held over his head, "I'm not entirely sure. It's pretty standard, so I can't imagine it will take more than a day."

She gave him a light smile, "Just make sure to come back safe. That's all. We worry."

His return smile was warm and reassuring, "Don't worry. I'll always come home." His smile shifted to a slight grin, "After all, I'm the great Uchiha Itachi." He laughed as he had to duck a couch cushion as it was lobbed at his head. He snuck his wife another kiss before heading out.

Sakura sighed and put the cushion back before heading to the kitchen to clean up after their pizza day. Pizza was something they tended to get when Itachi had a mission coming up. It was a good excuse for them to have a little family moment and let the kids spend some quality time with Itachi before he headed out.

She headed out to the backyard after she was done cleaning up, blinking as her kids stopped playing and looked around in confusion. Kensuke scratched the back of his head before looking up at Sakura, "Where did dad go?"

Sakura frowned, "He went on a mission, you know that." Why was he asking such a thing?

All three kids had the same sort of confused look on their face, Minako speaking up, "But... but dad was just here playing with us."

Kyouya nodded in agreement, "He ran away when he saw mama, though."

Sakura felt like she was missing something. Did Itachi stop to play with them a bit on his way out? She couldn't see how he'd quite get away with that.

Kensuke suddenly latched onto her side, grinning up at her, "I want a cloak like dad's though. I didn't know he had something that looked that cool!"

She stiffened a bit and looked down at her son, feeling a cold shiver run up the back of her neck, "What cloak, honey?"

Minako was the one to pipe up, sitting on the porch and swinging her legs a bit as she spoke, "It was a long black one with red clouds on it."

Sakura bit her lip and looked at her children each in turn, her eyes critical as she made sure nothing was wrong. She couldn't help but ask anyway, "He didn't do anything to you three, did he?"

Her children looked rather confused at that question, looking at each other before turning their eyes to her and shaking their heads. She nodded a bit and gave them a shaky smile, "No, of course not, how silly of me." Her first instinct was to warn her children that the person wasn't their father, but someone using a genjutsu to look like him. She thought better of it, however. There was no reason to panic her children. At the very least, they had been alone with the stranger and nothing had happened to them. For now, it seemed he had no interest in hurting them and that's what mattered most to her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The years went by in a blur for Sakura. Her children each took their turns graduating from the academy to be assigned their own teams. Much to Minako's frustration, Kensuke was the first of her children to reach chounin rank, though she got back at her brother when she was the first of the three to become a jounin. It rankled both, though, that Kyouya was the first to awaken his sharingan. Of her children, the first to awaken his sharingan was also the one that least wanted to use it to harm others.

Kyouya went on to be a medic nin, as Sakura had thought he might. He was very good, his chakra control on par with Sakura's. He didn't have his mother's freakish strength, but he had a strong affinity for jutsu.

Kensuke had matured a bit over the years and now had his own squad of genin he was training up. He enjoyed teasing them though and Minako was quick to point out that he was likely picking on them now that she was too old for him to pick on. Kensuke insisted his sister would never be too old for him to tease.

Minako, ambitious as she was, had decided to try to get into the Anbu. Her father, having been in the Anbu himself, coached her on what she'd need to know and be able to do. It took a bit, mostly due to waiting for an opening in the Anbu, but she was eventually admitted.

Funnily enough to Sakura, it was Kensuke that was the first of her children to marry. His wife was a sweet girl from the medical nin squads. Kyouya had introduced them and the two had hit it off rather well.

Kyouya was the next to marry, to a member of the Inuzuka clan. This came as a surprise to just about everyone, as they hadn't really seen the two together very much before the proposal. They hadn't really hidden it, but they weren't exactly out in the open about it, either. Even as an adult, Kyouya was still painfully shy about things like that.

Minako, much to Sakura's chagrin, took a very long time to get married. She had good reason though and Sakura could understand. Being in the Anbu was exceptionally dangerous and Minako didn't want to get involved with someone only to lose her life. It was a concern all shinobi had, but it was compounded by the fact that she couldn't tell anyone she was an Anbu with a few very small exceptions. Hell, her own brothers didn't know she was in the Anbu. Only her mother and father knew, and that was due to the fact that Itachi was _in_ the Anbu and Sakura was Tsunade's apprentice. How would she explain to her husband the disappearances for missions she couldn't tell him about? It would sound like an affair or something.

When she finally got married, she surprised everyone when it wasn't someone from Konoha at all, but Suna. Specifically the red-haired child of the Kazekage, Gaara. Gaara's son, Kaoru, had met with Minako on a mission where he'd accidentally learned of her identity while trying to treat her wounds from a particularly difficult battle. He helped her home after she had recovered and the two kept in touch over the years. When she was finally ready to settle down and retire from the Anbu, the two finally came out in the open about their relationship. Minako moved to Suna to live with her husband, who was training under his father to take over the mantle of Kazekage when the time was right.

As the years passed, her children kept in close touch and often came over. Between them and Itachi, she was never lonely. Even after her parents finally passed of old age, she couldn't feel anything but a sense of fulfillment from her life.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Music Corner: I changed songs at this point to "That Next Place" from the Meet Joe Black OST.)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura stood before an ornate grave, the autumn winds blowing her white hair across her face. It had been three months but she came to visit his grave every day. She gave Itachi the rundown of the day and told him how his children were doing. She'd go on to talk about their grandchildren. How Kensuke's son was karma incarnate in how he drove his father nuts, or how Minako's son was in training now to become the Kazekage of Suna. Kyouya often came to visit her with his son and daughter to make sure she was okay after Itachi's death, even though she'd insisted she was fine.

Today everyone was rather busy, so she'd had time to relax to herself. She'd cleaned up the house a bit and otherwise had a lazy day. She'd come out to talk to Itachi's grave, but she felt a presence then. She gave a bit of a smile, her croaking voice calling out, "I know you're there. You can come out."

Itachi came out from the trees, his movements slow, like he felt that he was intruding on something he shouldn't. Her eyes moved to gaze at him, but unlike her younger self, she didn't glare or get defensive. Age had done wonders to calming her down and all she could feel was a strange sense of nostalgia. She couldn't even bring herself to be angry at him for using the face of her dead husband. It was just... how she knew this person, she supposed.

He came to stand beside her, looking down at the grave. It was a bit of a surreal experience for him, looking down at his own grave. He looked over to Sakura, a very slight smile appearing on his face. Even this old and wrinkled, she was beautiful to him. He found that he hoped he would get to see her like this. That they would live to this ripe age together.

Her eyes moved to meet his and she gave him a serene smile, "You still want to take this old woman, do you? To that place?"

Itachi could only nod, "Of course. It's what I've wanted from the beginning."

She nodded, having known that was what he was there for. She was surprised he hadn't come the moment Itachi was dead. Then again, maybe he had been giving her time to grieve. Either way, she gave him a smile now, "I'll go wherever you want to take me now." She watched as he held out his hand for her and she took it gracefully, a light sigh escaping her lips, "I... I had a good life."

He felt like something had lodged itself in his throat, a feeling he hadn't felt in quite a long time, like he wanted to cry, "Yes, you did."

She chuckled a bit at his expression, "Now, don't look like that. You make me feel like you're Death come to take me to that next place." She smiled wryly, "Who knows, maybe you are."

Itachi shook his head, "No, I'm not here to end your life. I'm here to make sure you live it." His hands came up to cup her face and she gasped as a shot of chakra raced through her body, forced through her chakra pathways in a way she hadn't felt in years. It felt like cords were snapping, like something tied tightly around her mind was being cut away and memories started to rush into her brain all at once, assaulting her. No... that's right, this wasn't her. This wasn't her life. She wasn't eighty-seven... that number was off by a good number of decades. The wonderful, perfect life she'd been living was a lie... but...

...but the one she'd left behind wasn't all bad either...

Tears poured down her face. Tears at what she'd almost lost and was gaining back. Tears at what she had that she was losing. And she could see it in Itachi's face, too, as the world around them swirled and blurred, the genjutsu breaking around them. He had been in her mind the entire time, watching her life, watching what her heart wanted for the both of them and wanting it with almost as much passion as she did.

Both of them mourned, but both of them were hopeful. They had an ideal to strive towards. They would see this war ended and do their best to make that life a reality. As Sakura's eyes cleared of the genjutsu and she returned to reality, Itachi was pleased at the look of pure determination she mirrored back at him. They _would_ win this.


End file.
